


Adrian's Birthday

by all_the_ships_are_sailing



Category: Love Victor (TV 2020)
Genre: Angst, Anxiety, Coming Out, Extended Family, First Person, Homophobia, M/M, POV Victor, Probably a happy ending, hurt/comfort (but like emotional hurt)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 22:14:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 22,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29053449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/all_the_ships_are_sailing/pseuds/all_the_ships_are_sailing
Summary: Victor's been out and with Benji for over 3 months; it's summer vacation. Armando moved out during the separation and lives in a small one bedroom apartment in the same complex. Adrian's birthday is coming up. Armando's parents want to come visit like they did for Victor's birthday. Problem is: Victor has been very carefully making sure they never find out that he's gay or that he has a boyfriend. When Victor is left with no option but to come out to his grandparents, what will happen and will Adrian understand why?Changed the rating from G to T because there's a lot more kissing than initially planned...
Relationships: Benjamin "Benji" Campbell/Victor Salazar
Comments: 10
Kudos: 74





	1. Chapter 1

When I get home from work, the last thing I’m expecting is for my dad to be there. But there he is; sitting at the kitchen table with my mom. It’s obvious they were talking before the door opened, but now they’re both staring at me and I don’t understand their expressions. I raise my eyebrows and close the door behind myself. “Do I want to know why you’re looking at me like that?” I ask. “Or why you’re here?”

My dad furrows his eyebrows and gives me a look of hesitation. “I need to ask you about something, flaco,” he says. “Can you sit with us?”

I don’t say anything, but walk into the kitchen and sit down across from my mom and look at him expectantly. He takes a deep breath and is about to speak when my mom, grabs his forearm. “Maybe we shouldn’t…”

“Isa,” he says, looking at her. “Let’s just see what he thinks, okay?”

She sighs. “Yeah, alright.”

“What I think about what?” I ask. They’re concerning me now. “What’s going on?”

My dad swallows and looks at me. “Um, I was talking to Tito earlier today…”

My eyes go wide. “They found out?” I ask. Basically, my worst fear since I came out has been my grandparents finding out. I’ve been careful online. I have all of my profiles super private and don’t accept family anywhere other than Facebook. I don’t post pictures with Benji there and I have my relationship status hidden from my profile.

“No,” my dad says.

“Oh,” I say. _That’s good._ “Um, what then?”

He takes a deep breath. “They want to come visit for your brother’s birthday next weekend,” he says and _oh_. “I told him, I’d let them know and he was pretty upset that I wasn’t just excited. But I didn’t want to spring that on you, son. I know you’re pretty concerned about how they’re going to react if they do find out, so…”

“How long are they coming for?”

“They’re not coming yet,” he reminds me. “But, just for the weekend. Like when they came for your birthday.”

I bite my lip and nod. “Yeah,” I say. “I mean. I don’t want to stop them from seeing Adrian for his birthday. Adrian loves Abuela Nati and misses her a lot, so I… I can manage to not bring Benji over for a weekend.”

He nods. “I think it would be more than that, mijo. We’d all have to be very careful. You’re used to being very open at home and you’d have to…”

I sigh. “I know. It’s okay. I mean, if you all don’t feel comfortable walking on egg shells about it all weekend, I understand that, too, but I can manage.”

“Are you sure?” my mom asks. “We can tell them no.”

“But then they’ll ask why,” I say with a shrug. “It’s easier to just get it over with.”

“Okay,” she says, nodding a little. “If you’re sure.”

“Where are Pilar and Adrian?” I ask, suddenly realizing they aren’t around.

“I had Pilar take Adrian for ice cream so we could talk about this,” my mom says. “I didn’t want to… I don’t know… I know Pilar will understand, but I am worried about Adrian.”

I nod. “Yeah. I don’t know if he’ll understand why he can’t talk about Benji or the general concept of my boyfriend for a whole weekend.”

“I think we should talk to him about it first. Before we tell them to come,” my mom says, looking to my dad and he nods. “They should be back soon. Why don’t you go change, mi amor?”

I don’t say anything and get up from the table. I get to my room and close the door. My head is spinning. I’ve been out for more than 3 months. I’ve been with Benji for more than 3 months and now I’m suddenly supposed to hide it all for a weekend because my grandparents want to see my little brother for his birthday. My little brother that my grandfather thinks is going to be like me; except he doesn’t even know that I’m like me. My thoughts are spiraling out of control. I don’t even change clothes; I just end up laying in my bed and staring at the ceiling; thinking too much.

I don’t know how long it’s been, but I’m startled out of my own head by a knock on my door. “Victor, mi amor, they’re home; can you come out to the kitchen, please?” I try to answer, but I can’t find my voice and that’s when I realize I’m crying. _Oh._ “Victor?” my mom says again. “Mi amor…” I still can’t find words, so I try to get up, but I can’t seem to move either. I just end up rolling over and curling into a little ball. Without planning to, I sob really loudly and my mom must hear it because the door opens and she’s crouching down next to my bed to look at my face. “Mi amor,” she says quietly, running her hand through my hair. “We don’t have to do this. They don’t have to come. If this is too hard…”

I manage to shake my head, but she just gives me a sad look. “We’re not making this decision today,” she decides. “We’ll talk about it again and decide, okay?” I manage to nod this time. “Oh, mijo, I am so sorry,” she says. “Can I give you a hug?” I try to sit up again and it’s hard, but I get there and she sits next to me. I fall into my mother’s arms, my head on her shoulder, and I cry. I don’t know how long she sits there with me, but it’s long enough that my dad comes looking.

“What’s…” he starts to say, but he stops when he sees us. At least I assume that’s what happens. I can’t actually see anything. There’s too many tears and my face is buried in my mom’s shoulder. “Mijo,” my dad whispers and he’s closer now. “I’m so sorry this upset you like this.” I feel his hand on my back for a moment and then I feel the bed sink in behind me and he’s hugging me from behind. This feels safe. Both of my parents here with me. And we stay there for another immeasurable minute until I hear Adrian’s voice.

“Mami? Papi?” he asks and I can hear him getting closer. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing, mijo,” my mom says and I can hear that she’s crying, too.

“Why are you crying?” he asks.

“Oh, mi amor,” she sighs. “It’s very very complicated.”

“Oh,” he says. That’s something she says to him a lot when she doesn’t want to explain something to him and he knows it. He knows it’s just an excuse and it sort of breaks through my daze of anxiety about my own situation to the point where I manage to sit up and turn around to look at him. “Victor?” he asks. “Did something happen?”

“Not yet,” I say. “But something might happen and it’s very scary for me. That’s why Mami and I are crying,” I say, glancing at her. She nods. “Can I? Can I tell him?” I ask.

“Tell me what?”

I look at my dad and he kind of shrugs and has wide eyes. “Are you sure, mijo?”

I nod. “He should know,” I say.

“Okay,” my dad says.

I scoot toward my mom to make room for Adrian between me and our dad. “Sit with us, hermanito,” I tell him and he climbs up on the bed and sits. “Papi was talking to Abuelo Tito earlier,” I say and then I sigh. “He and Abuela Nati want to come see you for your birthday.” He gets a look of glee on his face. “You want them to come?” I ask

“Yes! ABUELITA!”

I laugh a little through my nose. “Okay, but we need to talk about something else first. Before we can decide if they can come.” He furrows his little eyebrows and I sigh again. “Do you remember my birthday party?” I ask him. “The last time they came to visit…” He nods. “Do you remember when Tito got angry because he saw my friends kissing?” He thinks a little and then nods once. “If Abuelo Tito knew that I kiss Benji or that Benji was my boyfriend he’d be very upset,” I try to explain.

“Why?” Adrian asks. “Benji’s really cool. Why would he be mad that you kiss him? That doesn’t make sense.”

I swallow and glance at my dad and he slowly nods. “Um, it’s complicated, but I’m going to try and explain it to you, okay? Do you remember what happened when I told Tito and Papi that I wouldn’t ask them to leave?”

“I… I was with Pilar in my room,” he says.

I nod. “Right. Um, Abuela Nati was upset that I was talking to Tito like I was, but Mami told her something and then Papi agreed with Mami,” I say. “But Tito was upset because my friends were both boys. He doesn’t think boys should kiss other boys.”

“Why not?”

I take a deep breath. “Because he’s old. Because the church says we shouldn’t. I don’t know, buddy. But he… and Abuela Nati… they would not be okay with me being gay… with me having a boyfriend…”

“I don’t understand,” he says.

“I don’t either,” I admit. “But some people…” And then I’m crying again and I lean against my mom’s shoulder. She wraps her arm around my back.

“Oh, mijo,” she whispers.

“Why… why does that mean they can’t come for my birthday?” Adrian asks, looking at our dad and he sighs.

“If Abuela Nati and Tito come to visit,” my dad starts to say. He looks at me and my mom and then closes his eyes for a second. “If they come, it means Victor won’t be able to be who he is while they’re here. He, um, Benji wouldn’t be able to come over and he’d… it would be very hard for your brother.”

“I’m sorry, mijo,” my mom whispers. I’m not sure if she’s talking to me or Adrian this time.

“But that doesn’t make sense,” Adrian says. “I don’t understand why they would be mad… Victor and Benji love each other… Why can’t they be boyfriends?”

“Oh, mijo,” my mom says. “Your Abuelos… they just wouldn’t understand. They would be very mad at your brother if they knew about Benji…”

“But _why_?”

“Because they’re homophobes.” I sit up and look at the door. Pilar is leaning against the frame with her arms crossed. “They think that because the bible says some stuff or because it wasn’t okay when they were young, that it shouldn’t be okay now,” she says. “There’s a lot of people like that in the world and it really really sucks.” She walks in and sits on my desk chair in front of us. “Abuela Nati and Tito want to come for Adrian’s birthday?” she asks and our dad nods.

“I don’t want to be the reason they can’t,” I say, wiping my eyes with my fingers.

“But you matter, too, Vic,” Pilar says.

“I know, but if Papi tells them not to come, they’re going to ask why and what is he supposed to tell them? I’m sorry, Victor had a panic attack when he thought about you coming to visit so you can’t?” I almost laugh. “And Adrian wants them here, so they should come. It’s his birthday.”

“Victor…” my dad says.

“Maybe I won’t hide. Maybe they’ll just have to deal with it or disown me. Maybe it’s time for that,” I say. “I’ve been so careful online. Making sure I don’t let any of my cousins follow me anywhere I post pictures with Benji. Hiding my relationship status on Facebook and never posting anything so I don’t have to unfriend the whole family. It’s exhausting.”

“You could just not talk about it,” Pilar says. “And hope it doesn’t come up?”

I shake my head. “No. It’s all or nothing, so Papi, I think you need to decide,” I say turning to him. “I don’t want to have to be the reason they can’t come, but I also can’t go back in the closet. Not even for a weekend. I can’t do that to myself… or… or to Benji. I can’t.” He’s staring at me and then he glances at my mom. “If they want to come, they can come, but they’re going to have to deal with me being gay if they do.” Everyone is silent and my parents are staring at each other over me and Adrian. I look at Pilar and she smiles a little.

“Do you want to tell them that before they buy plane tickets?” my dad asks after a minute.

“What?”

“I… I think if that’s the plan, they should know… before they spend money to fly out here for the weekend,” he says. “So, that if they’re going to make a scene or whatever, they don’t bother coming at all.”

I close my eyes for a second and then nod. “Sure. Want me to call Tito?”

“Si,” he says. “I think that would be a good idea.” I shrug and pull out my phone. He swallows. “You don’t have to do it right now,” he says.

“But I might as well, right? They’ll have more time to figure out if they want to deal with their actually gay grandson in order to see the one they’re afraid might be.”

“Victor,” my dad says and closes his eyes. “Please think about this.”

“I did think about it. I had a panic attack about it. There’s nothing left to decide. If you want me to tell them before they come out, then I’ll call Tito right now.”

“Adrian, why don’t we go play in your room,” Pilar says. She gets to her feet and holds out a hand to him. He hops down off the bed and looks at me.

“It’s going to be okay,” I tell him even though I’m not sure I believe myself.

He makes a face and sighs. “I still don’t understand why they’d be upset…” he says and then he follows Pilar from the room.

“Okay,” I say, looking at my phone. “Here it goes.” I press send on my grandfather’s number and press the phone to my ear. My mom wraps her arm around my back again and rubs my arm with her hand.

“Hola, mijo!” Tito answers. “Victor! What can I do for you?”

I chuckle a little. “Hola, Tito,” I say and then I look at my dad and swallow. “I, uh, wanted to talk to you and Abuela Nati about something. Is she around?”

“Si. Un minuto,” he says and then I hear foot steps and “Natalia?” She says something I can’t understand. “Víctor está al teléfono. Quiere hablarnos de algo.” More footsteps and I hear Abuela Nati say my name as a question. “Si,” Tito tells her and then there’s a beep and he says “I think I put this on speakerphone…”

“Can you hear me?”

“Si,” he says.

“Hola, Abuelita,” I say.

“Victor, cariño, qué está mal?”

“Nada,” I say. “Uh, I just wanted to tell you something,” I say and then I look at my dad for a second and he nods slowly and I swallow. “Um, Papi said you guys want to come to Atlanta for Adrian’s birthday next weekend,” I say.

“Si,” Abuela Nati replies. “Los extrañamos a todos.”

I bite my lip. “Um, he wanted me to talk to you about this before you decide for sure, so…”

“¿Qué?” Tito asks.

I sigh a little. “Um, I know this is probably going to upset you, so… I guess, here it goes…” I close my eyes. “I, um, I’m gay.”

“¿Qué?” Tito asks. “Tienes una novia…”

“Uh, no… Mia and I broke up… three months ago,” I say, “because of this.”

“Victor…” my grandmother says. “¿Que pasó?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean… ¿Por qué dices esto?”

I close my eyes. “Uh, I mean… I’ve been confused for a really long time. Since before we left Texas,” I say. “I, uh, I thought I could make it work with Mia because I did really like her, but then I realized it was only as a friend. And I, uh…”

“Well, maybe you just haven’t found the right girl,” Tito says and I groan internally.

“No, Tito. There isn’t going to be a right girl,” I say and then I swallow. “I, uh… I have a boyfriend and I… I’m really happy with him. I… I love him a lot.”

“Victor, how can you say that?” Nati asks.

“Say what?”

“That you… you _love_ this _boy_.”

“Because I do? I like to think he loves me, too,” I say, almost laughing.

My mom snorts and whispers, “I assure you he does.” And that makes me actually laugh.

“Why are you laughing?” Nati asks. “¿Esto es una broma?”

“No, Abuelita. Mi mama… she said something funny.”

“Tu madre esta ahi?”

“Si.”

“Let me speak to her.”

“Uh,” I sort of freeze. My eyes go wide, but I turn to my mom. “Uh, mom, Abuela Nati wants to talk to you…” I offer her the phone.

“Put her on speaker,” my mom says and I do.

“Natalia,” my mom says. “¿Qué quieres conmigo?”

“Isabel,” she says sharply. “Tu hijo… él dijo…”

“Si, Natalia, I know what he’s told you. Why do you want to talk to me?”

“He said… he… he loves… a _boy_ ,” she says. And each word stings because I can tell she’s upset. I can tell she doesn’t like saying these words or hearing them.

“Yes, Natalia, he does,” she says. Abuela Nati inhales and it sounds almost painful. “Do you want to know what I told him that made him laugh?”

“¿Qué?” she says as if she doesn't understand why that's relevant.

“He had told you that he likes to think this boy loves him, too,” she says. “And I told him that I can assure him that he does.”

“Isabel, you… you allow this?”

“Mom,” my dad says suddenly. “Victor is who he is and we love him, exactly as he is. He and Benji are very close and they love each other very much. If you saw them together you would understand. Or at least I hope you would.”

“Armando!” she snaps. “I didn’t know _you_ were there. How can you say such things? We taught you better…”

“No, Mami,” he says. “I know love when I see it and I know my son. If you’re going to make a scene about this… if you’re going to disrespect my son _or_ his boyfriend, you are not welcome here. Do you understand?”

“DISRESPECT!” Tito snaps and then he’s yelling and cursing in rapid Spanish and I only understand half of it. But I understand enough to start crying again. My dad takes the phone from me and my mom wraps her arms around me again.

“Will you SHUT UP!” my mom snaps. And he does. It’s eerily quiet for a long second and then my mom continues. “Your grandson called to tell you this, because he was afraid of how you were going to react. He didn’t want to have to be the reason you couldn’t come see his little brother on his birthday. He _called_ because he was scared that if you found out when you were here it would have ended poorly and I can see now that he was right. Neither of you is welcome anywhere near my home unless you can give me a really good reason to think about forgiving you. And it better start with an apology to your grandson for every word that has come out of your mouths during this call. Do you understand me?”

“Isabel!” Nati hisses.

“Mom, Dad,” my dad says with a heavy sigh. “She’s right. I can’t sit here and let you talk to my son that way. You’re not going to be around any of my children until you rethink your… your prejudices. You are so closed-minded that you would hate your own grandson simply because of who he loves. Do you not understand how absurd that sounds? You are not welcome here if you are going to treat _any_ of my children like that. And that’s final.”

“Armando,” Nati says and I think she might be crying. “How can you say that?”

“I said what I said,” he says and then he swallows. “If you don’t have anything to say for yourselves, we’re going to hang up now.”

“Armando!” Nati says again.

“Goodbye,” my dad says and I hear the beep of him ending the call and then my phone being set on the nightstand. “Oh, mijo. I am so so so very sorry,” he says.

“Thank you,” I whisper. “Thank you for… for everything… for making me call them… for not… for not letting them come here and… and do _that_ … in person,” I say, trying to regain my composure. “I’m… I’m sorry you had to… had to do that…”

“Oh, mijo,” he says again. “I hope… I hope that one day they will understand, but until then… we’re all better off without their hatred in our lives. What you did… the things you told them… you are very brave, son.”

“Thank you,” I say again and I sit up from my mom’s embrace and wipe my eyes. “You, too,” I say looking at her. “Thank you.”

She shakes her head a little. “I will always have your back, Victor. No matter who comes against you. You are my son and I will always love you and stand up for you. Always.”

I hug her tightly again. “I love you, Mami.”

“I love you, too, mijo,” she says, hugging me back.

When I release her she gets to her feet. “Now, I’m going to go check on your brother and sister,” she says. “You should come explain to them,” she says to my dad and he nods.

“Will you be okay alone?” he asks me as he gets up and I nod as I crawl around to lay down on my bed instead. He smiles at me for a second. “I’m very proud of you,” he says. “Not just for the way you handled Tito and Nati just now, but the way you spoke to your brother and the way you’ve handled everything that’s happened this year, kid. You make me very proud to be your father.” I smile at him for a long second.

“Maybe you should call Benji,” my mom suggests as she’s about to close my door. “I think that might help you feel better.”

I laugh a little through my nose. “I think you’re right,” I say, picking up my phone from the nightstand.

“And,” she adds quietly. “You don’t have to be so careful anymore.” She smiles gently at me and then closes the door and I can hear both her and my dad walking toward Adrian’s room. I think for a second before I open Facebook and un-lockdown my profile. Then I change my profile picture to one of me and Benji from the other night and caption it with only a red heart emoji.

This garners a nearly instantaneous crackle from the walkie-talkie on my nightstand.

“Victor,” Felix says and he sounds concerned. “What did you just do?” he pauses for a second and then adds “Over.”

I chuckle. “Uh, it’s a long story, but… my grandparents know now, so I figure… you know, who cares, right? Also, were you just staring at Facebook? Over.”

“I just happened to refresh right after you did it, sorry. Do you want to talk about it? Over.”

“Maybe tomorrow. I’m going to call Benji. Over.”

“Right on. Talk to you tomorrow then. Over.”

I set the walkie-talkie back down and look at my phone just as it starts to ring. And it’s like he can read my mind because Benji is calling me. I answer. “I was literally about to call you,” I say, laughing a little.

“Great minds think alike,” he says. “Also, care to explain your new profile picture?”

I chuckle. “That is _exactly_ why I was going to call you, actually,” I tell him. “So, if it wasn’t obvious, my grandparents now know.”

“And…”

I sigh. “Yeah, it didn’t go over so well.”

“I’m sorry,” he says. “What happened? How’d they find out?”

I chuckle a little. “Um, I called and told them.”

“What?! Why?”

I sigh. “When I got home earlier my dad was here. He said he wanted to talk to me about something which freaked me out at first.”

“Um, yeaaah,” he agrees.

“So, we sat down at the kitchen table and he told me that his parents wanted to come visit for Adrian’s birthday next weekend.”

“Oh shit.”

“Exactly,” I say and then I sigh. “There was a lot of talking… and a lot of crying into my mother’s shoulder,” I add.

“Vic…”

“But yeah… I decided I didn’t want to be the reason they couldn’t come, but I also wasn’t going to hide myself away if they did, so my dad decided it was best if I call them. Um, I also had to explain to Adrian why this was a problem at all which was… difficult. I still don’t think he fully understands.”

“Oh,” Benji sighs.

“No, no, it’s actually amazing. He doesn’t understand why they would think we shouldn’t be together. He doesn’t get why they would have a problem with me being gay.”

“Oh!” he says more happily. “Okay, that’s adorable. I love kids.”

“Right?” I say. “But anyway, so Pilar took Adrian to his room and my parents sat with me while I called my grandparents. Um, I told them. They were confused at first. Then I told them about you and they were angry. I don’t know if at me or more my parents. But my parents both stood up for me and it was… I don’t know. Kind of amazing? My mom said they weren’t allowed to come if they didn’t apologize for the way they were talking to me and my dad said they weren’t allowed to come or be near _any_ of us until they get over it, so." I shrug a little. "When they didn’t even try to say anything, my dad hung up on them.”

“Wow,” Benji says quietly. “Are you... Are you okay?”

“I… I think so.”

“ _God_ ,” he sighs. “I kind of want to come over there so I can give you a hug.”

I laugh. “I mean… I’m definitely not going to stop you from doing that, but it's late.”

“Will your mom mind?”

I chuckle. “Uh, she’s the one that told me to call you, actually, so I doubt it, but let me ask. Hold on,” I say and then I pull the phone away from my ear and stand up. I open my door and walk across the hall to Adrian’s room. Pilar is sitting on his bed and Adrian’s on the floor. My dad is bent down, talking to him and my mom is standing at the end of the bed. I smile at them for a second and then shake my head. “Hey, uh, mom?” I say

She looks at me. “What is it, mi amor?”

“Would it be okay if Benji comes over for a little?” I ask.

She smiles and laughs. “Si, of course, cariño. That’s fine.”

“Thanks,” I say and then I pull the phone back to my ear and walk back to my own room. “She said that’s fine.”

“Perfect. Give me like two minutes and then I’m on my way and you are getting so many hugs you won’t even be able to stand it.”

“That’s literally impossible,” I say. “I could hug you forever and still be perfectly fine… better than fine actually.”

He laughs. “Okay, well, prepare yourself.” And we both just let that hang in the air for a minute. “You know what. I’m gonna shut up now,” he says and then we both laugh. “But really, I’ll see you soon, babe. I love you.”

I smile. “I love you, too. See you soon.”


	2. Chapter 2

20 minutes later there’s a knock on the apartment door and I get up to answer it, but by the time I make it to my bedroom door, my mom’s already pulling it open.

“Oh, hey, Mrs. Salazar,” Benji’s voice says.

“Hi, Benji. I’ve told you before; you can call me Isabel,” she says with a laugh as she gestures for him to come in. I can’t help but smile when he comes into view. He’s wearing gray sweatpants and an old t-shirt that’s just the right kind of tight. He must have already been ready for bed when he called.

“Oh, right, sorry, um…”

My mom laughs. “In his room,” she says and gestures down the hallway. I slip a step further into my room, so she can’t see me watching.

“Thanks,” he says and then I hear footsteps so I step back toward the hall and he stops when he sees me. He has this sad look on his face, so I guess my eyes must still be red from all the crying.

He opens his arms as he gets closer to me and whispers, “Come here,” as they close around me. We just stand there in the doorway for a long minute, holding each other as the world re-centers itself. I’m not scared anymore. I’m barely even sad anymore. I feel safe. “I love you so much,” he whispers as he pulls away to look at me.

I half-smile at him. “I love you, too. Thank you… for coming. I…”

He laughs a little through his nose and smiles at me. “Of course.”

I pull the rest of the way out of his arms and then link my hand with his, pulling him the rest of the way into my room. I push my door so it’s almost closed. “Leave that open!” I hear my mom say and I roll my eyes.

“It is. Come look if you don’t believe me,” I tell her and then I pull Benji the rest of the way to my bed. He tilts his head at me and raises his eyebrows. “You did _not_ walk all the way over here just to hug me once and leave. I refuse,” I say. He chuckles a little.

“So, what are you suggesting?” he asks.

“Cuddles. So many I feel like I’m suffocating.”

He laughs and smiles at me and then leans up and kisses me. “I think I can agree to that.”

I pull the covers down and crawl into my bed. He kicks his shoes off and then crawls in after me. As soon as he lays down, I wrap an arm around him and then lay my head on his chest. I try to get comfortable for a long minute as he wraps an arm around my back. “Are you okay?” he asks when I’m still wiggling around.

I sigh a little. “Can you… Can you take your shirt off?” I ask.

He laughs. “I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.”

I sit up and pout at him. “Please?” I beg.

He rolls his eyes and laughs a little. “Stop looking at me like that…”

“Not until you take your shirt off.”

He sighs. “Fine, but only because you’re too cute to say no to.” He sits up a little and pulls his shirt over his head and I do the same. He raises an eyebrow at me and shakes his head a little as he lays back down and opens his arms toward me.

“Thank you,” I whisper as I lay my head back on his now bare chest and his arm wraps around my now bare back. I sigh contentedly as I finally snuggle close to him.

“Better?” he asks.

“Much.” I say and he laughs a little. His fingers start drawing little circles on my back and it’s honestly making me sleepy or maybe it’s the just the post-anxiety exhaustion settling in. Either way, I yawn.

“You probably shouldn’t fall asleep on me,” he whispers.

“But I’m so cozy,” I whine.

“I know,” he whispers.

“I just… I was so anxious and now you’re here,” I say. “I want to be close to you because you make me feel… calm? I don’t know if that’s the right word.”

“I get it,” he says. “You make me feel better when I’m anxious, too.” And then he starts humming, quietly, faintly and it makes me yawn again. “I guess I probably shouldn’t sing you to sleep,” he says.

“Probably not, but…” I say quietly. He exhales a little laugh through his nose and kisses the top of my head before he starts humming again. “What song is that?” I mumble as I try to stay conscious.

“I actually don’t know,” he says with a little laugh. “I just sort of started humming and it happened.”

“I like it,” I whisper.

He kisses the top of my head again and then asks, “Should I keep going or are you going to fall asleep?”

“Hmm,” I mumble, kissing his chest. “I am really sleepy.”

“Maybe I should go and let you sleep?” he suggests.

“No,” I say and I tighten my grip on him. He laughs.

“I do need to go at some point,” he says, but I bury my face in his chest instead and he laughs again. “I don’t want to,” he adds. “But it’s already after 11.”

I groan a little. “Is it really?” I ask and lift my head to look at him. He nods. “Oh,” I whisper and then I kiss him and I guess we both must lose track of time because the next thing that happens is my mom opening my bedroom door, causing us both to freeze and her to laugh.

“It’s late,” she says.

“I was trying to tell him I needed to leave,” Benji says. “And then he accosted me with his lips.” My mom laughs and my face feels like fire.

“Well, I think you do actually need to leave now,” she says. “So, say goodbye, Victor.”

I grumble into his chest and he laughs. “Come on, babe. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I know,” I mumble. “I’m just so cozy.”

“I know,” he says back. “Believe me, I know.” Then he kisses the top of my head again and I sigh as I roll away. He climbs out of the bed and then reaches over me to pick up his shirt and pull it back on. “I love you,” he whispers.

“I love you, too.”

He smiles at me for a second as he slides his shoes back on and then he turns to leave. “Do you want me to get the lights for you?”

“Um, yeah… Thank you.”

“No problem,” he says and then he turns the light switch off and it’s dark, but he’s still visible in the light from the hallway. “Sleep tight, my love. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

I smile at him even though he probably can’t see my face through the dark and he smiles back for a second before closing my bedroom door. I hear him walking to the apartment door and my mom saying goodbye and then the door opens and closes and I hear the lock click into place. I sigh as I roll over into the spot where he was just lying. My pillow smells like him and it makes me smile. I sigh again and then I drift off to sleep.

When I walk into work the next morning, Benji is behind the counter stocking. He looks up at me and smiles. “Hey, handsome,” he says quietly as I walk over. “How’d you sleep?”

I shrug a little. “Okay, I guess,” I say and then I kiss his cheek. “My pillow smelled like you,” I add in a whisper and he smiles after me as I walk into the backroom to get my apron. When I walk back out, he’s smiling at me again. “What still needs done?” I ask.

“Can you check the napkins and straws and stuff out on the floor?”

“Sure,” I say and I start to walk around the counter, but he catches my wrist in his hand as I pass him, so I turn to look at him. “Can I help you?”

He laughs a little and kisses me. “Sorry, you’re just really cute,” he says and then he winks and releases of my wrist.

“It’s a good thing Sarah isn’t here,” I say. He bites his lip to hide a laugh. The morning isn’t too busy, but there’s a steady stream of customers to keep us occupied. Benji takes his break during a noticeable lull and leaves me alone at the counter. A few minutes later, Felix and Lake walk in. “Oh! Hey guys!” I say as they walk up to the counter.

“Where’s Benji?” Felix asks, looking around.

I laugh. “On break. You know we don’t _always_ work together, right?”

He shrugs. “But he makes the schedule, right? So you definitely pretty much do.”

I roll my eyes. “So what,” I say. “Do you want something?”

“Well, I wanted to ask you about your grandparents…” Felix says. “That’s kind of a major development.”

I close my eyes and sigh. “Can you wait until my break? I’ll go when Benji gets back and I can tell you about it.” Felix looks at Lake and she shrugs, so he shrugs and nods. “Do you want coffee?”

“Yeah, sure,” he says and pulls out his wallet. I make their coffees and then they go to a table in the corner.

A few more people come and go before Benji gets back. When he does, he walks up next to me and kisses my cheek. “You survived, I see.”

“I did,” I agree and then I nod toward where Felix and Lake are smirking at us. They wave when Benji looks toward them and he waves back. “I, uh, told Felix I’d tell him about the grandparents thing, so… I’m gonna take my break now if that’s cool.”

“Yeah, of course,” he says and then kisses my cheek again. “I’ll be right here if you need me,” he adds with a wink and I laugh as I walk into the back room.

I hang up my apron and use the bathroom and then I slide into a chair at the table with Felix and Lake. “So…” I say when I sit down.

“What happened?” Felix asks. “How’d they find out?”

I swallow. “Uh, I called and told them.”

“What? Why?” he says.

I sigh. “Because, when I got home last night my dad was there and they told me that my grandparents wanted to come visit for Adrian’s birthday next weekend,” I say, biting my lip. “We went through a lot of options for how to handle it. I had to explain to Adrian why it was even a problem and he still doesn’t understand which is really just sweet. But anyway, I decided that I didn’t want to be the reason they couldn’t come, but I also didn’t want to hide away for an entire weekend. A lot of crying on my mom’s shoulder later, my dad told me to call them first so they didn’t get out here, find out and make a huge scene. And that’s what I did and they were confused and angry and my grandfather was cursing in Spanish and saying some really terrible things and then my parents said that if they couldn’t accept me and didn’t apologize, they weren’t welcome here. And when they didn’t even try to apologize or anything, my dad hung up on them.”

“Holy shit,” Felix says.

“Yeah,” I agree with a nod. “I don’t know if any of us are ever going to see them again, honestly. It’s just… it’s hard, because I really love my Abuela Nati… And Tito, I guess… but they are just so…”

“Homophobic?” Lake says.

“Yeah,” I agree.

Lake and Felix are both looking over my shoulder and when I raise an eyebrow at them, Lake says, “Your boyfriend looks concerned.”

“Oh,” I say and I turn around to smile at him and he smiles back. “Uh, yeah… Obviously, I told him about this last night,” I say. “And I was such a mess. Um, he actually came over for a little bit after all of it happened.” They both nod and sip at their coffees. “So, what are you guys up to today?”

Felix glances at Lake and she shrugs. “Lake’s mom works, so… we’re headed over there.”

I laugh. “Yeah. I do not need any further details.”

“When do you get off?” Felix asks.

“3-ish. We opened,” I say, glancing at Benji again. “We’ll be able to leave once Sarah and Megan show up.”

My phone vibrates in my pocket, so I pull it out and look at the screen. My Abuela Nati is calling me and I don’t know if I’m ready to deal with that. I glance at Benji for a second and then answer the call. “Hola, Abuelita.” Felix and Lake’s eyes go wide as they stare at me. I shrug.

“Victor, cariño. I am so sorry, mijo.” I don’t say anything. “I’m not going to pretend I understand this, but I _love you_. And nothing will change that. Your Abuelo and I were talking and we would still like to come for Adrian’s birthday next weekend, but I want to leave that up to you, mijo. I know having us there might be… uncomfortable for all of us.”

Before I can respond, Benji walks over to the table and stops next to me. “You two look like someone died. What is going on?” They both shake their heads and Felix lifts his chin toward me. I look up at Benji and swallow.

“Gracias, Abuelita,” I say and I watch as Benji’s eyes go wide and he sinks into the chair next to me. He grabs the hand that isn’t holding my phone and I squeeze his hand and mouth _thank you_. “I… I’m not sure if that would be a good idea yet,” I say. “I, uh, I’m at work right now, so would it be okay if I talk to Papi later and we can call you back?”

“Si, mijo, yes, of course,” she says. “I’m sorry for bothering you at work. I didn’t know.”

“It’s okay, Abuela. Uh, thank you for calling at all,” I say. “I’ll… talk to you later.”

“Okay, Victor. We’ll wait for your call,” she says and then the line clicks dead and I drop my phone to the table.

“What just happened?” Benji says, searching my face with his eyes.

I sigh a little. “That was my Abuela Nati,” I say and I glance at Felix and Lake, too. “Um, she said she was sorry. But she also said she wasn’t going to pretend to understand. And that she loves me and that they still want to come, but they’re leaving it up to me.” I swallow and shrug. “I don’t know if I want them to come. I just… I mean… Are they just going to pretend I’m not gay? What are their expectations?”

Benji nods. “I think you need to talk to you parents and when you call your grandmother back, you need to discuss those concerns with her,” he says. And I sigh. He puts his hand on my cheek and I smile a little. “I love you, Vic. I’ll be here no matter what you decide about your grandparents, okay?” I nod a little and he gets to his feet. He kisses my forehead and then walks back toward the counter.

I stare after him for a second and then I turn back to Felix and Lake. “Sorry, you guys had to witness that,” I say.

They both shake their heads. “It’s fine, man,” Felix says. “I’m sorry _you’re_ dealing with all of this in general.” Then he glances at Lake. “We should be going,” he says and she nods.

“I’m really sorry, Victor,” Lake says as we all stand up.

I shake my head. “Thanks,” I say. “Um, I need to get back to work anyway. I’ll see you guys around.”

I go through the side door into the back room and pick my apron back up. Benji pokes his head in from the counter. “Are you okay?”

I nod. “Yeah.” He tilts his head like he doesn’t quite believe me, but I just keep tying my apron and then walk toward him. “I’m fine,” I say and then I kiss him briefly. “Stop worrying.”

“Worrying about you is kind of my job,” he says.

“No, making coffee is your job,” I quip with a wink.

He rolls his eyes. “You know what I mean,” he says. “Like, I’m your boyfriend. I’m supposed to worry about you, aren’t I?”

I laugh a little. “I guess, but you don’t have to right now. I’m fine.”

He rolls his eyes and sighs. “Well, I was going to ask if you wanted to come over or go do something after work, but it seems like maybe you should be going home to talk to your parents instead,” he says.

“ _Damn,_ ” I say. “I would so much rather spend time with you than deal with this.” I take a deep breath. “But yeah, you’re probably right. Why don’t you come with me?”

He laughs. “Isn’t this sort of a family matter? Are you sure that’s appropriate?”

“It involves you as much as it involves me. They didn’t get mad-mad until I brought up the fact that I had a boyfriend… or really it was more so when I said I loved you.”

“I didn’t realize _I_ was their problem…” he says.

I roll my eyes. “I mean. They would have had a problem either way, but they were just extra pissed, I think that my parents were okay with me having a boyfriend at all. And with me saying I loved a boy. The way Nati said it. It was like it caused her actual pain,” I say and then I sigh. “But now she’s trying to apologize, so God knows.”

He sighs. “I don’t know, Vic…”

“Look, you don’t have to come if you don’t want to. I just figured I’d offer because I don’t know how long this is going to take and I would really like to spend some time with you away from work today, but,” I say and then I shrug.

He doesn’t say anything, but he wraps his arms around me and I laugh a little. “I love you, Vic. If you want me to come over, I will. Just like last night. If you want me there. If you need me there. I will be there every time.”

I hug him back for a minute. “I love you, too,” I whisper and I feel his arms tighten around me. I sigh and lean my head against his. “Thank you,” I say. And he chuckles a little, but before he can say anything the bell on the counter rings and we snap apart. “Sorry, what can we get you?” I ask as I walk back to register. Benji chuckles behind me. He’s still laughing when I turn around from taking the order so I hit his shoulder with the back of my hand. “Shut up.”

He chuckles again. “I’m sorry. You’re just too cute,” he whispers and then he set the drink on the pick-up counter “Here you are, sir, sorry about the wait.”

“Thank you,” the customer says and takes the drink.

The rest of the early afternoon is pretty slow, so when Megan shows up at 3, Benji tells me to go clock out. “It’s not like I’m going anywhere,” I say with a little laugh. “I’m waiting for you.”

He smirks. “I know,” he says. “Sarah should be here any minute and then I’ll leave, too.”

“Okay,” I say and then I kiss his cheek, and as my luck would have it, the front door opens and Sarah walks in at that exact moment.

“Seriously!?!” she says as she walks toward the counter. “How many times do I have to tell you two…” Benji sucks his lips in to hide a laugh and I turn around to go take my apron off. I hear Sarah huff loudly and then she says, “I’ll be right back.” Her office door clicks open a second later.

I hang up my apron and clock out then I walk around to the front of the counter. “Hey, can I get a cold brew before I go?” I say to Megan.

“Yeah, of course,” she says and she runs the transaction while Benji pours it into a cup and hands it to me.

“Thanks,” I say. “I’ll, uh, wait outside?” I ask Benji and he nods.

“I’ll be out in a minute,” he says with a smile and then I head outside.

I pull my phone out as I lean against the side of the building. I text my dad. _Are you around? I’m about to leave work and I want to talk to you about something._

_I am. Do you want me to come over?_

_Could you? I’m just waiting for Benji and then we’ll there in like 15 minutes._

_Yeah, kid. I’ll head over. Is everything okay?_

_Yeah. Abuela Nati called me earlier…_

_Oh._

He doesn’t say anything else and Benji opens the door the next second. “Hey,” he says with a smile. “Ready?”

“Yep,” I say and I grab his hand as we start walking. “I texted my dad, so he’s going to come over. I just told him that my Abuela called…”

Benji nods a little and squeezes my hand. “Do you know what you want to do?”

I shrug. “I mean. I’m going to tell them what she said and then we’ll call her, I guess. I want to talk to her about what I said earlier. I want to make sure it’s not going to blow up if they come. I know Adrian really misses them, so it would be nice if they could be here for his birthday, but,” I say and then I shrug again.

When we get to the apartment, my dad’s already there. He and my mom are in the kitchen whispering back and forth. I’m assuming about why my dad’s there. “Hey,” I say as I pull Benji through the door and close it.

“Victor,” my mom says walking toward me. “Papi says that your Abuela called you?”

I nod. “Yeah. Um, while I was on break actually.”

My mom looks at me for a second and then her eyes dart to Benji. “Hi, Benji.”

He chuckles. “Hey, Mrs. Salazar.” She rolls her eyes at him and he quickly adds. “Sorry, Isabel.”

“Okay, okay,” she says and she steps back. “Um, come sit. Tell us what she said.”

I sigh and pull Benji with me to the table. We sit on one side and my parents sit on the other. “Um, okay,” I say. “Uh, she started off by saying she was sorry. And then she said she wasn’t going to pretend to understand ‘this’. And then she said that she loves me and nothing will change that.” My parents exchange glances. “And then she said she and Tito still want to come for Adrian’s birthday, but that she was leaving it up to me.” They look at me, so I add. “And I told her I was going to talk to you and then call her back.”

They both nod and look at each other again. “Well,” my dad says, turning back to me. “What do you think, Victor? The ball's in your court on this one.”

I swallow and nod once. Benji squeezes my hand under the table and it makes me smile a little as I glance at him. “Uh, I want to ask her a couple questions,” I say.

“What questions?” my dad asks.

I shrug. “What is she expecting? She said she wasn’t going to pretend to understand, so does that mean she expects me to just not talk about it… to not talk about him,” I say leaning toward Benji. “I just… I want to know what she wants. I guess. And does Tito feel the same way? I just don’t know. It’s a lot,” I say.

“It is a lot,” my dad agrees and he looks at my mom. She nods once.

“Mijo,” my mom says. “You don’t have to do this. You _can_ just tell her no.”

I swallow. “I know,” I say with a sigh. “But I know Adrian misses them. If it can happen, I’d like them to be able to come. For him.” I glance toward the doorway just as Pilar and Adrian walk into view.

“Oh,” Pilar says, looking at us. “Um, what’s going on?”

I take a deep breath and look at her. “Um, Abuela Nati called me earlier,” I say. “We’re trying to figure out what I’m going to say when I call her back.”

“Yikes,” she says and Adrian tilts his head.

“Is she still angry about you having a boyfriend?” he asks.

I laugh a little through my nose and nod. “Something like that, buddy.”

“Well, we came out here to see if it was okay if we go to the park for a little. Adrian wants to go on the swings…” Pilar says, looking at our mom.

“Oh, yeah, of course, that’s fine, mija. Be careful.”

“Thanks,” she says and then she looks at Adrian. “Put your shoes on.” He nods and takes off toward his room. Pilar looks around at us again and then walks back the hall, presumably to get her own shoes, too.

My mom looks at me. “You’re sure, mijo?” she asks.

I nod. “Yeah. I at least want to talk to them.”

My mom nods and glances at my dad, he nods once. “Let’s wait until Pilar and Adrian leave and then we can call them, okay? And this time, we’ll just go with speakerphone from the start, I think.” I nod a little. “And, um, maybe they shouldn’t know Benji’s here,” she says glancing at him.

“I tried to tell him it was weird…” Benji says.

“It’s not weird,” I say. “Their problem is that I’m in love with you. They need to get over it.”

He chuckles under his breath once and then sighs. “See,” he says, looking at my mom

My mom nods. “Okay, well. Maybe start with your questions and then depending you can, um, bring that up?” she says.

“Yeah, alright,” I say.

“Okay, well, we’ll be back,” Pilar says as she reappears in the doorway with Adrian.

“Okay, mija. Be safe. Watch your brother carefully.”

“I know, mom,” she says and then they’re out the door.

“Okay, I guess, there’s no time like the present,” I say as I pull my phone out. “I’m going to ask her to get Tito, too, so we can talk to both of them.” My parents nod and I press send on Nati’s phone number and then switch the phone to speaker and set it in the middle of the table.

“Hola, mijo. Victor, did you talk to your Papi?”

“Si, Abuela,” I say. “Um, can you get Abuelo, too? I want to talk to both of you if that’s okay.”

“Yes, yes, of course, cariño,” she says and then she’s talking in Spanish to Tito and I can barely hear her let alone understand. I hear him fumbling with her phone and then a beep.

“I think that worked,” he says.

“Can you hear me?” I ask.

“Si, Victor. Lo siento mucho, mijo. This is very hard for us.”

“I know,” I say. “Um, so I wanted to clarify a couple things if that’s okay.”

“Si,” Nati says. “¿Qué está mal?”

I swallow. “Well, I know you said earlier that you still don’t understand,” I say. “Um, I just wanted to make sure you both know, that if you come, I… I’m not going to,” I continue and then I glance at Benji. “I’m not going to hide that part of me to make it easier for you. This is who I am and it’s been very hard for me to come to terms with that at all, but now… now that I have it would be even harder to… to try to hide it again.”

“Victor,” Nati says. “No entiendo. Qué estas diciendo?”

“English, please,” I say.

“Victor, entiendes suficiente español para responder eso,” Tito says.

“I do,” I say, but I glance at my parents and then at Benji. “But, I have you on speakerphone with Mami and Papi… and my boyfriend is here and he doesn’t understand Spanish, so we’re having this conversation in English, please.”

“¿Qué?” Tito says, but he’s angry so I know he heard me.

“You heard what I said. We’re having this conversation in English.”

“Armando!” Nati says.

“Si,” he responds.

“¿Por qué ese chico está ahí? Este es un asunto de familia,” Nati says.

“Abuela Nati,” I say. “Your problem with me is that I’m in love with Benji. He is as much a part of this as I am. He’s here because I want him here. You don’t get to change that. So, like I said, we’re having this conversation in English or we’re not having it at all.”

“You don’t have to,” Benji whispers.

“Shh,” I say and then I squeeze his hand. He sighs, but leans his head against my shoulder and I lean my head against his. My grandparents haven’t spoken again. “So,” I say, “are we having this conversation in English or am I hanging up the phone?”

Nati sighs. “Victor, why are you telling us these things? That you won’t hide… What do you mean?”

I take a deep breath. “I mean. That if I know Adrian, he’s going to ask Benji to come to his birthday party,” I say with a little laugh. “And I’m not going to tell either of them that he can’t, just to make it easier for you. Just like I wouldn’t ask Benji and Derek to leave my birthday party when Tito got angry. If you have a problem with me… with us… that’s your problem… not ours and…”

“You… your boyfriend is… one of the boys from your party?” Tito says.

I laugh a little. “Yeah, uh, it's complicated,” I say. “They, uh, broke up the same night things ended between me and Mia.”

“I mean, I did sort of break up with Derek specifically for you,” Benji says quietly and I laugh.

“And because he was a jerk,” I add and Benji chuckles. My parents are both smiling at us across the table, but my grandparents are silent.

“So, yeah,” I say, looking back at the phone. “That’s why I told you that. If you’re going to come for Adrian’s birthday, you should be prepared for that. For me to be at the party with my boyfriend. And he’ll probably kiss me or I’ll kiss him because it’s not something we think about,” I say. “I know that would make you uncomfortable, so… it’s really... I guess it’s up to you.” I look at my parents and my dad nods a little and smiles.

“If you guys are going to be uncomfortable with Victor and Benji being together,” he says, looking at us. “I don’t think you should come. I don’t want to make this any harder than it has to be for anyone.”

“Mijo,” Nati says. “Armando. Yes, we would be uncomfortable, but…” she pauses.

“What your mother is trying to say,” Tito says, “is that we love you. We love all of our grandchildren. Yes, um, the situation with Victor makes us very uncomfortable. It is very hard for us to understand, but we want to see you. All of you.”

“We would really like to come for Adrian’s birthday,” Nati adds. “And we won’t make a scene with Victor. We don’t even have to talk about it.”

“You can’t just pretend it’s not happening,” I say. “Are you just going to pretend we don’t exist the whole day? Only talk to me when he’s not around?”

“Mijo, no,” she says. “I… I love you very much. This is just very hard for your grandfather and I. The world is not like it used to be.”

“It’s not,” I agree. “And that’s a good thing. The world has grown more accepting. Of course, it’s still not perfect,” I say, “but it’s better than it was. When Benji and I go out in public, we don’t have to hide who we are like we would have even 30 years ago. If people that don’t even know us at all can accept that we’re together, I really hope you can, too.”

“Oh, mijo,” she says. “We… we love you so much, Victor.”

“I know, Abuela. But just loving me despite this isn’t enough to make it right,” I say. “I’m sorry, but it’s not.”

“Victor,” Tito says. “Can we talk about this again later? After your Abuela and I have a chance to think about everything you’ve told us.”

I glance at my parents and they shrug. “Sure,” I say. “That sounds like a really good idea.”

We say goodbye and I end the call. We all just sort of look at each other for a minute. My dad is looking between Benji and I for a second and then he looks at me and smiles. “I am so proud to be your dad, Victor.”

I laugh a little and smile at him. “Thanks, Papi.”

“You are an amazing person, mijo,” my mom says. “Standing up for what you believe in… for what is right… even to your abuelos. It is a _very_ good thing, mi amor. I am so proud of you.” She smiles at me and I smile back.

“Thank you, Mami.”

We’re all quiet again for a minute and then Benji leans over and whispers next to my ears. “So, do you actually want to go do something now? We still have plenty of time.”

I turn and smile at him. “Please?”

“Come on, then,” he says and he starts to get up.

I look at my parents. “Um, is it okay if I go out with Benji for a little while?”

My mom laughs. “Of course, mijo. Be back before curfew.”

“Thank you,” I say and then I let Benji pull me to my feet and out the door.


	3. Chapter 3

“What do you want to do?” Benji asks when we get outside. I shrug and he raises his eyebrows at me. I bite my lip and he chuckles.

“Can… Can we just go to your house?”

He smiles and laughs under his breath. “Yeah, we can do that.” We start walking in that direction, but before we get to the first intersection he asks, “Do you want to stop for dinner?”

“Hmm,” I say, biting my lip. “Can we order pizza instead? Would you parents mind?”

“I’m sure they wouldn’t care,” he says with a little chuckle. “Is everything okay?” he asks. “You seem… I don’t know… anxious?”

I shrug a little. “I am. Like… Like last night. I just want to be close to you right now,” I say quietly. “That’s… that’s why I asked if we can just go to your house. I sort of just want to cuddle and forget about everything that’s happened today for a little while.”

He squeezes my hand. “I can do that.”

When we get to his house, he pulls me inside and closes the door. As soon as it latches, I hear his mom’s voice coming from the kitchen. “Benji? Is that you?”

“Yeah, mom,” he says and then he glances at me. “And Victor’s here, too.”

“Oh,” she says as she walks out of the kitchen into the entry hall. “Hi, boys! How was work this morning?”

“Good,” I say with an uncomfortable smile.

She furrows her eyebrows at me. “Is everything okay?”

Benji sigh. “Mom, can you not?”

“I just…” she says.

“Mom,” Benji pleads.

“No,” I say, squeezing his hand. “Uh, it’s a long story. Just some family drama stressing me out. No big deal.” I try to actually smile at her.

She makes an I-don’t-believe-that face but says, “Oh, alright then. Do you boys want dinner?”

Benji glances at me and I shrug. “What are you making?” he asks.

“Spaghetti,” his mom says with a smile.

He glances at me again and I shrug again. “Uh, sure, that sounds good,” he says. “We were just planning to order pizza anyway, so…”

“Okay,” his mom says. “I’ll let you know when it’s ready.” Then she turns around and walks back into the kitchen and Benji sighs as we finally walk up the stairs.

As soon as we’re inside his room and he closes the door, I wrap my arms around him and he laughs a little under his breath as he hugs me back. I sniffle loudly. “Babe,” he whispers quietly as his hand moves up and down my back. “Hey, it’s okay. I’m here. I’m not going anywhere. I promise,” he says. I squeeze him tighter. “I love you, Vic.”

“I love you, too,” I say and my voice cracks a little.

His hand stops moving as he holds me closer and rocks side to side a little. “Do you want to sit down?” he asks. I nod against his shoulder. “Okay, come on, let’s sit down,” he says and I take a step back. He has a sad look on his face when he sees mine, but he laces his fingers through mine and pulls me toward the bed. “Take your shoes off,” he says as he sits down and kicks his own off. I do. “Now, come here,” he says, opening his arms toward me and I scoot closer to him and wrap my arms around his middle as his fall around my shoulders. He starts swaying back and forth again and it’s oddly soothing and then he’s humming and it’s like the anxiety is melting away.

“I feel like such a child,” I say after a little while.

“What d’you mean?” he asks.

I shrug a little and nuzzle my face against his chest. “I don’t know. Like you holding me and rocking back and forth and humming like that. It… it calmed my anxiety so much. I’m… I’m like a little baby being rocked to sleep.”

He laughs a little under his breath. “Soothing techniques aren’t limited by age group,” he says quietly. “Sometimes everyone, no matter how old they are, just needs to know that they’re safe and loved. Which you are, Victor. I’m not going to let anyone hurt you; not even your grandparents and I love you more than anything. It’s going to be okay,” he says and somehow, I believe him. I sigh contentedly and he starts humming again. I tighten my arms around him and his tighten in response. “Feeling better?” he asks.

“Much,” I say and I look up at him and smile. He smiles back.

“Did you still want to cuddle?”

I nod. “I always want to cuddle with you.” He laughs a little and then we shift so we’re laying down instead and my head is on his chest.

“Do I need to take my shirt off again?” he asks with a little chuckle as I try to get comfortable.

I bite my lip and lift my head to look at him. I nod a little and he chuckles again, but pulls his shirt off and I remove mine, too. Then I lay my head back on his chest and sigh contentedly. His fingers run lightly up and down my back as he starts to hum again. Everything about this is perfect. I wish I could just stay in this moment forever. Where nothing is wrong and I’m just safe in my boyfriend’s arms.

We lay there for a long while, just enjoying each other’s company. Until his mom calls from the bottom of the stairs that dinner’s ready. We both sigh a little and smile at each other. “I guess we should go eat,” he says quietly.

“But I’m so cozy,” I say, laying my head back on his chest.

He chuckles. “We can come back after dinner.”

“Promise?”

“I promise,” he says and then he wraps both arms around me and holds me tighter for a long second. “I love you,” he whispers and then he kisses the top of my head and releases me.

I sigh and roll off of him. “That means we have to put our shirts back on.”

“Unfortunately,” he says with another little chuckle as he sits up and pulls his shirt over his head. I do the same and then we’re sitting on opposite sides of his bed smirking at each other for a second.

“Boys, did you hear me?” his mom calls from the bottom of the stairs.

He rolls his eyes and sighs. “Yeah, mom,” he says loudly. “We’re coming.”

We both stand up and he laces his fingers through mine. “You are okay eating with my parents, right?” he asks as we walk toward the door.

I nod. “Yeah, of course.”

He squeezes my hand. “Okay, let’s go before she yells again,” he says with a chuckle as we walk out of his room and down the stairs.

When we make it to the kitchen, his mom is putting a large pot of sauce and meatballs on the table. “There you are,” she says. “Hurry now, before it gets cold.”

I catch Benji rolling his eyes out of the corner of my eye and bite back a laugh as he pulls me toward the table. We take the two seats opposite where his dad is already sitting. His mom puts a plate with garlic bread on the table and then sits next to her husband. “Alright, dig in,” she says. I hear Benji laugh almost silently through his nose as he helps himself to the spaghetti.

Dinner with Benji’s family was weird the first few times, but I’ve gotten used to it now. They don’t say grace before they eat which was probably the strangest thing to get used to. I asked Benji about it after the first time we ate with his parents and he told me they just weren’t religious; never had been, which is not a concept I’m used to back in Texas. They also don’t talk very much while they’re eating which just feels awkward sometimes; my family never shuts up.

After I eat a few bites I look up at Benji’s mom. “This is really good, Mrs. Campbell. Thank you for letting me eat with you.”

She smiles at me. “Thank you, Victor. You know you’re always welcome here.”

I smile at her and she smiles back for a second and then everyone’s silent again and eating. When we’re almost done, Benji leans his shoulder against mine for a second, so I look at him and he’s smiling at me, so I smile back. A few minutes later, his hand falls to my knee under the table and I drop mine on top. He flips his hand over and interlocks our fingers. “Uh, thanks for dinner, Mom. It was really good.”

His mom smiles at him for a second. “Thank you, Benji. I’m glad you two decided to join us,” she says and then she smiles at me a little, too.

“Um, do you need any help cleaning up?” he asks.

“No, no. I can handle it,” she says. “I’m sure you boys have much more exciting plans for your evening than helping me with the dishes.”

I bite my lip and he chuckles a little. “Not really. We were just going to hang out upstairs until Victor has to be home.”

His mom shakes her head a little and smiles. “You two spend so much time here,” she says. “It’s different.” And I know she means it’s different from Benji’s last relationship. From what I’ve heard Benji and Derek were rarely here and Benji missed his curfew more than once because Derek refused to leave his friends’ shows even though Benji begged him to. “Don’t get me wrong,” she adds. “I like having you around more, and I’m very glad we’re actually getting to know Victor.” She smiles at me for a second. “But go on, I can handle the clean-up,” she says and Benji squeezes my hand under the table.

“Okay. Thanks, Mom.” He releases my hand and gets to his feet. He waits for me to stand, too and then we walk out of the kitchen toward the stairs. “Sorry about her,” he says when we reach his room.

“Why are you apologizing? You’ve met my mother. That was nothing.”

He chuckles a little. “Okay, true,” he says as he closes the door.

“And your mom doesn’t make you leave the door open,” I say and he fights back a laugh. “Which means I can do this,” I say and then I walk toward him and pin him against the inside of the door as I press my lips to his.

He kisses me back and I feel his hand run up under the back of my shirt. I pull my lips away from his and smirk for a second and then I kiss his neck instead and he moans a little. “Okay, yeah, you can definitely do that,” he sighs.

We stay there for a while and my lips eventually move back to his and we’re kissing until we’re both out of breath. I push my forehead against his and he smiles at me as he licks his lips. “You taste like garlic bread,” he says through a chuckle.

I lick my own lips. “So do you,” I say with a sigh and we both laugh a little.

“We should go sit down,” he says and I nod and take a step backwards. He steps toward me and uses both hands to grab my butt before I can turn around. I yelp in surprise and he laughs. “Shhhh.”

“Hands to yourself, sir,” I say with a giggle.

“No thanks,” he says with a wink. His hands run up under my shirt again and he kisses me briefly. “However, bed first.”

I shake my head and laugh through my nose as I roll my eyes and turn around. He lets me get a couple steps away before wrapping his arms around my waist from behind. I chuckle and shake my head again as he lays his head against the back of my shoulder. “Did you want to sit down or not?” I ask.

“Mmm,” he says, thinking as his fingers run over my abs. “I guess we can sit.” He steps away and I actually make it to the bed this time. I turn around and sit. Then I open my arms toward him and he smirks before tackling me backwards and reconnecting our lips. “I love you,” he breaths a while later as he rolls off of me onto his back.

I roll onto my side and smile at him for a second. “I love you, too.”

He reaches over and puts his hand on the side of my face. I lean my head into his hand and he smiles at me. “So, what did you want to do with the rest of the night?”

“Hmm,” I say, trying to pretend I’m thinking. He chuckles after a second, I know my face must have given me away so I lean forward and kiss him briefly before laying my head against his chest. “I believe I was promised more of this,” I say.

He chuckles again and wraps his arm around my back. “Are you not going to make me take my shirt off this time?” he asks a second later.

I bite my lip and then sit up and pull my shirt over my head. He laughs and quickly does the same. “That’s what I thought,” he says as I lay my head back on his chest. He starts humming a minute later and I sigh contentedly. He chuckles. “Is this just going to be every night now?” he asks.

I chuckle a little. “Hmm. I could definitely get used to it. That’s for sure.”

He wraps his other arm around me and holds me tight for a second. “Me, too.” Then he goes back to humming and I nuzzle my face against his chest. We lay there for a long while until my phone starts vibrating in my back pocket. I groan and pull it out. Expecting it to be my mom asking me when I’ll be home, but it’s not. I freeze. “What’s wrong?” Benji asks, leaning his head to look at my face. I turn the phone around his eyes go wide. “Oh.”

I take a deep breath and set the phone on his chest in front of me as I slide to answer the call and then click it to speakerphone. “Hola, Tito.”

“Victor,” he says quietly. “Are you okay? You sound… different.”

I clear my throat a little. “Uh, yeah, I’m fine.”

“Okay,” he says. “Well, your Abuela and I were talking. About what you told us earlier and we really are trying to understand, mijo. It’s very difficult, but we are trying.” I swallow and glance at Benji, he half-smiles at me. “We… we really want to come see all of you for your brother’s birthday next weekend. Do you think that might be okay?”

“I don’t know,” I say quietly. “I really want to say yes, because I know Adrian really wants you guys to come, but I don’t know. I’m…”

“Entiendo. Do you want some more time to think about it?”

“Um,” I say and I glance at Benji. He sighs a little and I nod. “Uh, can I ask you a question?”

“Si. ¿Qué es?”

“Um. When you say you’re trying to understand, what do you mean?”

“Oh, mijo,” he says sadly. “We are trying to be open-minded. We want to be able to accept this part of you. We want to love you as you are.”

“You say you want to…”

He sighs a little. “It is very hard for us,” he says again. “We are not used to this… this idea. But your Mami and Papi both seem very sure. You seem very sure. That you… that you love this boy, so we want to be happy for you, Victor. We want to be happy that you’re happy, mijo. It is just not the life we would have imagined for you.”

I swallow and look at Benji he’s smiling at me and raising his eyebrows. I roll my eyes at him. “Uh. Yeah, I… I get that,” I say and I do. “Um, we’re all really sure,” I say and I wink at Benji, “because I _do_ love him. _A lot_.” Benji is grinning at me and he winks.

“Oh, mijo,” he says. “If that is true, we are very happy for you.”

“It’s very true,” I say.

He pauses. “I can tell. And I am happy that you are happy, mijo.”

“Thank you, Abuelo. That means a lot to me.”

“So, mijo, do you think your Abuela and I can come visit next weekend?”

I swallow. “I’m… yeah, I think that would be okay. But I need to talk to Mami and Papi, so… I’ll have Papi call you guys later… or tomorrow.”

“Can you not just talk to them now?” he asks.

I laugh a little. “Uh, I’m not at home.”

“Oh,” he says and then he’s quiet for a second. “You were at work this morning…”

I laugh a little again. “Uh, yeah. I’m at Benji’s house.”

“Oh,” he says again. “Um, well, tell your Papi to call us, okay?”

“I will, Abuelo. Gracias. ¡Buenas noches!”

“¡Buenas noches, mijo!”

I end the call and look at Benji. He’s smiling at me. “I love you, too,” he says and I laugh a little. “I’m proud of you. You handled that really well.”

“Thanks,” I say with a little smile. “I’m oddly glad I was with you when he called.”

He smiles and chuckles a little. “Did you want to go home and talk to your parents?”

I shake my head. “Let me just text my dad,” I say. “I don’t want to leave yet.”

“Okay,” he says and he smiles as he watches me type a text. My phone still on his chest.

_I just talked to Tito again. I think he and Nati should come next weekend. I told him I’d have you call him back._

_Are you sure? What did he say?_

_I’m sure. They’re really trying. He said he was happy that I’m happy. He barely even paused when I told him I was at Benji’s house._

_Wow. If you’re sure. I’ll talk to your mother and then call them._

_Thank you, Papi._

I look up at Benji and smile. “So, now that that’s taken care of,” I say with a smirk. “Where were we?” He smiles at me and then I press my lips to his and we’re kissing like it’s breathing. I never want this to end.

I don’t know how much later it is, but I can’t breathe, so I pull away from him and sigh. He chuckles and rolls to his side to face me. He puts his hand on the side of my face and smiles at me. “I love you,” he whispers.

“I love you, too,” I whisper back. “But,” I say begrudgingly. “I should go home.”

He sighs. “Yeah, okay, you’re probably right. I’ll walk with you.”

“You don’t have to.”

“But I’m going to,” he says and I know better than to argue.

25 minutes later, we’re in front of my building, so I stop and turn to him with a smile. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” I say.

He chuckles. “Let me walk you up.”

I roll my eyes. “You _really_ don’t have to.”

“But I will,” he says with a smirk. I roll my eyes again and sigh. He chuckles, but squeezes my hand and pulls me toward the door.

Once we’re outside my apartment door, I stop and turn to him again. “Okay, now _really_. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He smiles for a second and then kisses me. “Okay, babe. I’ll see you tomorrow. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” I say and then he releases my hand as I start to open the door. “Text me when you get home so I know you’re safe, please.”

“Always,” he says. “Good night.”

“Good night,” I say with a little smile after him as he walks down the stairs and I walk into my apartment.

My mom is standing in the kitchen, on the phone. She’s talking to someone in Spanish, but I have no idea who until she says, “Oh, Victor está en casa. Hablo contigo más tarde, Natalia.”

“Abuela?” I ask as I walk in.

“Si,” she says. I raise my eyebrows and shake my head a little, but start walking back the hall. “Wait, Victor,” she says a moment later, walking out of the kitchen.

“Si, Mami?” I say, turning around to face her.

“Um, Papi says you talked to Tito earlier and you want them to come next weekend.”

“Si,” I say, nodding. “Um, Tito called me earlier and we talked about everything and I really think they’re trying.”

She nods. “I think you’re right, mijo, but is trying enough?”

I pause for a second, but then nod. “I want them to come. Tito said he was happy that I’m happy. It’s… It’s a start and I know Adrian wants to see Abuela Nati.”

“Okay, mi amor,” she says. “That’s what I was talking to her about just now. They’re going to fly in on Friday and Papi is going to pick them up at the airport. I… I want to have a nice family dinner with everyone on Friday night.”

“Where are they staying?” I ask.

“Here,” she says and I notice she looks uncomfortable.

“They do know about Papi moving out, right?”

“Si,” she says. “Um, you know your grandmother and I don’t always see eye-to-eye about a lot of things…”

I nod. “You’re just worried about her fighting with you.”

She nods. “Yes and no,” she says. “I’m also worried about you, mijo.”

“I know, Mami,” I say. “But I’ll be okay. I promise. After I talked to Tito earlier, I feel a lot better about it. I really think they’re going to try.”

“Okay,” she says and I can tell she’s still worried. “Um, do you work this weekend?”

“I’m off on Saturday for the party,” I say. “So is Benji. Sarah’s mad because she’s ending up there most of the day,” I add with a laugh. “Uh, I’m supposed to work until 7 Friday, but if you want to have dinner, I can see if I can switch with an opener. Whitney and Benji are supposed to open. I’ll ask Whitney to switch, but if she won’t I know Benji will.”

My mom nods. “Okay. That sounds good.”

I walk to my room and get my pajamas together to go shower. I send Whitney a text before I do though. _Hey could we switch on Friday?_

When I get back from the shower she’s responded. _What are you supposed to work?_

_Mid. 10-7. My grandparents are flying in from Texas and my mom wants to have dinner._

_Yeah okay. That’s fine. We just have to tell Sarah, I think._

_Benji’s allowed to the change the schedule. I’ll get him to do it tomorrow._

_Boyfriend perks. [laugh-cry emoji]_

_You know it. Thanks for switching!_

_No problem._

I flip to my conversation with Benji. _Whitney and I are switching on Friday. I’m texting you now so I don’t forget to have you change it tomorrow. [kissy emoji]_

_[laugh-cry emoji] Work texts with kissy faces are probably frowned on you know._

_Shush. [kissy emoji]_

_Why are you switching? I thought you wanted to sleep in?_

_Uh, yeah. My grandparents are apparently flying in on Friday and my mom wants to have dinner with them and everyone Friday night, soooo._

_Yikes. Are you sure you’re ready for that?_

_As ready as I’m gonna be, I guess._

He doesn’t respond, but a second later my phone is vibrating in my hand and he’s calling me on FaceTime. I laugh a little and answer the call. “You’re sure?” he says.

I roll my eyes. “Yes, Benji. It’s fine. They’re trying. You heard Tito earlier.” I shrug and sit down on the side of my bed.

“I guess. Alright, well. At least that means I get to open with you on Friday, right?”

I chuckle. “It does in deed. If she couldn’t switch, I was going to make you, but I like this arrangement better.”

He laughs. “Me, too. I’m glad she agreed.” He pauses for a second. “Where are your grandparents staying?”

“Here. We have the pull out sofa. My dad just got a cheap one from the thrift store for his apartment that doesn’t pull out.”

“Oh. They do know about your parents, right?”

“Apparently. I asked my mom about that earlier when she said they were staying here. She was actually on the phone with my Abuela when I got home.”

“Weird. Didn’t you say they don’t really get along.”

I raise my eyebrow and shrug. “They don’t. I have no idea. They were talking in Spanish and I came in in the middle of it, so I don’t even know what they were saying. I just heard my mom say my Abuela’s name.”

“Hmm,” he says. “Okay, well. I’m here if you need me, okay?”

I smile at him. “Okay. I’ll see you at work tomorrow.”

He nods. “Sounds good. Goodnight, babe.”

“Goodnight,” I say with a little chuckle as the call ends.

The next day Benji and I are scheduled to close. He starts at 1 and I’m not supposed to start until 3, but I decide to show up a couple hours early and we get there at the same time. He’s laughing when he sees me. “You know you don’t start until 3, right?”

I nod. “Yep. I just heard there was a really cute barista working today and it sounded like a good time.”

He rolls his eyes and sighs. Then he kisses me briefly. “I need to get in there before Sarah murders me,” he says and I laugh, but nod and follow him through the door. We both walk toward the counter where Sarah and Megan are working. “Hey,” Benji says as he walks around.

“Hey, Benji. Thank God you’re here.”

He rolls his eyes. “Yeah, you can go hide in your office now,” he says sarcastically as he walks into the back room.

“What are you doing here?” she says when she notices me. “You don’t start until 3.”

“Yeah,” I say. “Am I not allowed to get a coffee and sit down for a while before my shift?”

She shakes her head. “Yeah, yeah, sorry, whatever,” she says and she turns around toward her office.

“I mean, if you wanna start now,” Megan says.

“I don’t wanna take your hours,” I tell her.

“I _really_ don’t mind. 6 hours working with Sarah is more than enough for one day.”

I laugh. “But you’re not working with Sarah anymore. You’ve got Benji now and he’s a delight to work with.”

He walks back out while still tying his apron on. “Did I hear my name?”

“You did,” I say.

“Saying good things, I hope,” he says with a smirk as he leans against the door frame.

“When have I ever said bad things about you?” I ask as I roll my eyes.

He pretends to think about. “Okay, you might have a point.”

Megan and I both laugh. “Anyway. You’re good. I’m just gonna hang out for the couple hours. I will however take a cold brew.”

“Are you sure? Cause I _really_ don’t mind,” she says again.

“Positive,” I say. “Don’t worry about it.”

“What’re you talking about?” Benji asks.

“Oh,” Megan says. “Uh, I just told him he could start now if he wanted to, because I’ve had more than enough for the day. 6 hours with Sarah was…”

Benji laughs. “Believe me. I’ve been there. If you wanna go, I’m sure I can convince him to clock in early,” he says smirking at me.

I bite my lip and shake my head. “Either way, I want that cold brew,” I say.

“Okay, okay. Cold brew,” she says and she puts the order into the register. “A buck fifty.”

I pull out my wallet and hand her the money which she puts in the drawer and Benji is already sliding my cold brew across the counter once I put my wallet away. “You’re the best,” I tell him with a wink.

“I try,” he says with a little smirk. “So, Megan, do you actually want to leave?”

“Kind of,” she says. “I have plans tonight and extra 2 hours to get ready would not hurt.”

“Do girls actually take that long to get ready for things?”

She stares at him blankly for a minute before nodding. “So…”

“What’s your offer?” I ask, looking at him and he smirks for a second before putting on his pretending thinking face.

“Hmm, I’ll do closing by myself tonight, but you can stay on the clock,” he says. I raise an eyebrow. “And,” he adds with a smirk and then he edges behind Megan to come around the end of the counter and puts his lips next to my ear. He says something that I am _not_ repeating which causes my entire face to feel like it’s actually on fire.

Megan laughs. “I really do not want to know,” she says immediately holding up a hand. “Can I leave now?”

Benji tilts his head at me and raises his eyebrows a little with a mischievous smirk. I roll my eyes. “Fine. I’ll go clock in.”

“You’re the best!” Megan says and follows me to the back room.

“I hate him,” I say when we get the time clock.

She laughs loudly. “No you don’t.” She slides her card to clock out and then walks toward the break room.

Sarah comes out of her office as I slide my card. “What are you doing?”

I close my eyes and sigh. “Megan wanted to go home and I was already here.”

“That’s not going to put you over hours, is it?”

I shake my head. “Nope. We’re good. Promise.”

She nods. “Fine,” she says and then she walks back into her office and sits down.

When I walk back out to the counter, Benji is still smirking at me. “Stop it,” I say. He just shrugs a little and laughs. I roll my eyes. “Oh, did you change the schedule for Friday yet?”

“Oh!” he remembers. “Nope. Let me go do that now,” he says as he walks into the back room. Megan walks out the side door and waves goodbye a second later and then I hear Sarah’s office door open again.

“What are you doing?” she demands.

I hear Benji sigh. “Uh, Whitney and Victor are switching on Friday.”

“Why?”

“Victor needs to be home early and Whitney agreed to switch.” She doesn’t say anything, but I can imagine her demanding stare. “His grandparents are flying in on Friday and his mom wants to have a family dinner.”

She huffs a little. “Fine,” she says and then I hear her office door close again and Benji reappears next to me.

“I don’t even know why she cares,” he says. I shrug.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a long one to wrap this story up. I hope you enjoyed!

The rest of the week passes without problem, but when I wake up on Friday morning, I can feel the anxiety trying to creep back in. I sigh as I turn off my alarm. At least I get to spend eight hours with Benji before dealing with my grandparents. It’s summer so I’m the first one out of bed. I make myself a bowl of cereal and eat it quickly before heading out the door.

When I get to work, Benji’s already there and at the point of unlocking the door. He doesn’t hear me walking up or if he does, he doesn’t turn around. I wait until I’m right behind him and then wrap my arms around his waist. He chuckles a little. “Good morning,” I whisper next to his ear and then I kiss his cheek.

“Morning,” he says. He puts his arms over mine and leans back a little bit. We both sigh a little and disentangle ourselves as he pulls the door open. He locks the door again once we’re inside. We still have 20 minutes until the shop actually opens. And then we walk into the back room and clock in before grabbing our aprons. “What time do you grandparents get in?” he asks as we’re starting to restock the counter.

“Like two, so they’ll either already be there when I get home or get there shortly after.”

He groans a little. “Dang it.”

“What?” I ask turning around. Half expecting him to have spilled something.

He shrugs. “I was kind of hoping we’d have a little time after work, but I guess working with you for 8 hours today and your brother’s birthday tomorrow are going to be the extent of our weekend plans, huh?”

I nod. “Unfortunately.”

“Well, Sarah doesn’t get here until one,” he says with a wink and then he’s kissing me. It goes on for maybe five minutes before he steps away with a little chuckle. “Sorry, we’re supposed to be working, aren’t we?”

I laugh a little. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure that’s why we’re here at this hour.”

We finish setting up for the day and Benji unlocks the door and flips the sign to open right on time. The morning isn’t super busy, but there’s a steady stream of our weekday regulars. When Whitney arrives at 10, Benji has her do a sweep of the floor to restock and wipe down tables before she joins us behind the counter. Sarah shows up at one and doesn’t say a word to any of us as she walks through to get to her office. Benji and I exchange looks and shrugs at this. Benji looks at Whitney. “I’m sorry.”

“What?” she says, looking up from the drink she’s finishing.

“Sarah,” he says, nodding toward her office. “I’m guessing she’s in a bad mood and you and Megan are going to be the ones to deal with it, so I’m sorry.”

“Oh,” Whitney says and then she sighs as she places the drink on the pick-up counter and calls the name. “Well, whatever. Not like you can control her moods. We’ll survive.” She turns to me. “Hey, Vic, when do your grandparents get in?”

“Soon,” I say. “My dad’s picking them up at two or something, so they should be home right around the same time I get there.”

“Cool,” she says. “Are you excited to see them?”

I almost laugh. “Uh, something like that.” She raises an eyebrow. “Um, they’re not exactly on board with the whole me being gay thing.”

“Oh,” she says. “I’m sorry.”

I shrug and shake my head. “I’ve been talking to them since last weekend and they’re trying. It’s just weird. I have a feeling this weekend is going to be super awkward for the whole family, but my brother misses them and it’s his birthday tomorrow, so.”

“I don’t think I’ve met your brother,” she says. “Your sister’s come in…”

“Uh, yeah. Adrian’s turning eight tomorrow. Not exactly coffee drinking age yet,” I say with a laugh.

“Aren’t you both off tomorrow?” she asks, glancing at Benji, too. We both nod.

“Uh, yeah, I’m going to the birthday party, too.”

“My brother is almost as obsessed with Benji as I am,” I say with a wink.

“It’s only because I’ll sing _Frozen_ songs with him,” Benji says. I laugh.

“You know he’s totally going to make you sing in front of all his friends tomorrow, right?”

“I’m counting on it! I’ve been preparing,” he says, laughing.

“Well, at least my parents won’t have to pay for entertainment.”

He laughs more and then the door dings open and we all turn around. The next two hours pass without incident and when Megan shows up at 3, Benji and I go to clock out. “Hey,” Megan says when she turns around from the time clock.

“Hey,” Benji says. “Uh, fair warning. Sarah’s in a bad mood. She didn’t say a word when she got here at one, so…”

“Yikes,” Megan says. “Thanks for that.”

We both laugh a little and then clock out. When we get outside, Benji catches my hand in his and I turn to smile at him. “Yes?”

“Want me to walk you home?”

I laugh a little. “You don’t have to do that. I’ll be okay.”

He half-smiles like he’s still considering it. “At least call me later please.”

“I will,” I promise. I kiss him briefly. “I love you.”

“I love you, too. And I’ll see you tomorrow at Adrian’s party.”

“Yep. Bye,” I say and then I squeeze his hand before letting go.

As I’m walking up to my apartment building, my dad’s car pulls in and I sigh. The passenger window rolls down and my grandmother waves at me. “Victor!”

“Hola, Abuelita,” I say as I turn around and walk toward them.

“What are you doing outside, mijo?” she asks.

“I just got home from work,” I say. “You guys just got in?”

“Si,” she says. “How was work?”

“Good,” I say.

“Flaco, come help me with your Abuelos luggage,” my dad says from the back of the car and I gladly leave my grandmother to join him. “You okay?” he asks more quietly once I join him. I nod. He gives me a look of disbelief.

“I’m fine, Papi,” I say.

“Okay,” he relents and then we pull the suitcases out of the trunk.

“And we’re sure they’re only here for the weekend?” I ask.

He laughs. “You know your Abuela, Victor. I’m surprised it’s only two.” I laugh, too as he closes the hatch and we start toward the building. My grandparents follow us until we stop outside the apartment.

I check the door and it’s locked. I roll my eyes and pull out my keys as I unlock it and step inside. “Mami?”

“Oh! Victor, how was work?” she says, walking out of her bedroom.

“Good,” I say and then I pull the suitcase in and her eyes go wide. “Dad pulled in right as I got here,” I say. She nods.

Once we’re all inside and Abuela Nati and Tito are settled on the sofa, Nati looks at my mom. “Where are the rest of my grandchildren?”

My mom laughs. “In their rooms, I’ll go get them,” she says. I’m still standing in the doorway while my dad’s in the kitchen getting drinks.

“So, how was your flight?” I ask.

“Good,” Tito says and he smiles at me. I nod.

I can hear my mom back the hall. “Adrian, mijo, Abuela Nati and Tito are here, go say hi please.”

And then Adrian shrieks. “ABUELITA!” He nearly knocks me over as he runs past me into the living room and straight into our grandmother’s arms. I laugh.

“Careful, little man. Don’t run in the house,” I say. My Abuela gives me a look and I laugh a little. Then I hear a knock back the hallway.

“Pilar?”

“Go away.”

“Mija, your grandparents are here.”

“I don’t care.”

“Pilar, please come out and say hello at least.”

“I don’t want to talk to them.”

“Mija, please?”

I sigh and walk back the hall. “Let me,” I say, putting a hand on my mom’s wrist. She smiles at me and steps away from Pilar’s door.

“Pilar,” I say. “Can I come in?”

She groans, but I open the door a little. “Hermana,” I say as I walk in and close the door behind myself. “What’s going on?”

She rolls her eyes. “I don’t want to talk to them.”

“Why not?”

“You know why not? I don’t understand why you even let them come, Victor.”

I close my eyes and nod a little. “Because they’re trying. They really are. And because it’s Adrian’s birthday and he wanted them here.”

She groans and crosses her arms over her chest. “I don’t know how you can say that.”

“Say what?”

“They’re trying. How do you know they’re actually trying?”

“Because Tito told me he was happy that I’m happy. Because neither of them have said a thing about it since they got here. Because I’m trying to give them the benefit of the doubt because they’re our grandparents and I’d like to not lose my entire extended family over this. So please. Just come say hi for a minute.”

“Fine,” she says with a loud sigh. “But I swear to God if they say one negative thing about you… or about Benji… or even about Adrian… I’m out.”

“Okay,” I say quietly and then I offer her my hand which she takes.

We walk back to the living room and Adrian is now sitting on the sofa next to Abuela Nati who looks up at us and smiles. “There she is! Hola, mija! ¿Cómo estás?” Pilar just shrugs. Abuela Nati tilts her head at her for a second. “¿Qué pasa, mija?”

Pilar shrugs again. “Nothing.”

“Okay,” I say. “Well, I’m going to go get a shower and change before dinner,” I say to everyone and then I lean to my sister’s ear. “Give them a chance, please.” She blinks at me, but doesn’t say anything. I walk back the hall and into my room.

I close my door and pull out my phone. Benji’s already texted me. _Are they there yet? How’s it going? I love you. You can do this._

I laugh a little as I respond. _They are here. The only one being awkward so far is my sister. I love you, too._

_What’s your sister doing?_

_I had to convince her to come out of her room. She doesn’t want to talk to them. She’s still mad we let them come._

_Oh._

_Anyway, I’m going to get a shower and change before this awkward as hell family dinner, so I’ll talk to you later._

_Shower you say. [eye emoji]_

_Stop it._

_I’m just saying… [smirking emoji]_

_I hate you._

_No you don’t. [kissy emoji]_

I roll my eyes and set my phone on my dresser as I pull out something to wear. After my shower, I’m sitting on my bed, trying to psych myself up for this awkward family dinner when my mom knocks on the open door. I look up at her. “I’ll be out in a minute.”

“Actually, Victor,” she says. “Can I come in for a minute?”

I shrug. “Sure,” I say and I’m internally wondering if my grandparents said something already, but I’m still trying to give them a chance. She walks in and sits on my desk chair to face me.

“I was talking to Nati and Tito,” she says. I nod. “We think it might be nice if you invite Benji to dinner tonight.”

My eyes go wide and I stare at her in disbelief. “What?”

“We think it might be easier for everyone if they have a chance to meet him and get to know him like this. In a familiar setting as opposed to tomorrow when there’s thirty 8-year-olds running around the park. Obviously, I’m not saying you have to, but we think it might be a good idea.”

We’re quiet for a long minute and then I say, “Okay, yeah. I’ll call him.”

She smiles at me as she stands up. “Good. We’re eating at 5:30, but he’s welcome to come over sooner than that,” she says as she walks toward the door. She closes the door when she leaves. “I’ll leave you to it then,” she says.

I stare at the inside of my door for a few seconds, still not this is a good idea. Then I get up and open the door again. Pilar’s door is still open. That’s a good sign, I think, so I take a deep breath and walk back to my bed as I pick up my phone from the dresser. I call Benji on FaceTime.

“Hey, handsome,” he says, smiling at me for a second. “Though, I must say I’m disappointed. You tell me you’re getting a shower and then you FaceTime me 15 minutes later fully clothed.”

I shake my head and laugh. “Can you not?”

He laughs, too. “Sorry. Did you need something? Everything okay?”

I take a deep breath again. “Um, so I got a shower,” I say, running my hands through my wet hair.

“Stop teasing me.”

I smirk. “And my mom came in my room afterwards. And said she was talking to my grandparents.” He makes a face. “And, apparently, they want you to come to dinner.” His eyes go wide. “That was also my reaction.”

He blinks and shakes his head a little. “What?”

I shrug. “I don’t know, honestly. She said something about thinking it would be easier for everyone if they meet you in a more familiar setting. Rather than when thirty 8-year-olds are running around tomorrow.”

He swallows and nods. “What do you think?”

I take another deep breath. “Well, Pilar is still out of her room, so that definitely seems like a good sign,” I say. “She said if they said one negative thing about either of us or Adrian, she was quote unquote out.”

“Okay,” he says. “That seems promising. I think.” I nod a little. “Do you want me to come?”

I shrug. “I mean. I always want you around,” I say with a smirk. “But it’s up to you. I’m definitely not going to force you into this.”

“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again,” he says. “If you want me there, I’ll be there, Vic. What time’s dinner?”

“Five thirty,” I say as I try to fight back a smile. “My mom did say you can come earlier if you want.”

He glances over his phone; I assume to check the time. “Give me 20 minutes to shower and change and then I’ll be on my way, okay?” I nod and he smiles at me so I smile back. “I love you, Vic.”

“I love you, too,” I say. “See you soon.”

He smiles at me for a second and then ends the call. Before I can get my phone into my pocket if vibrates with a text from him. _I’m still disappointed in the lack of shirtless post-shower imagery. [sad emoji]_

I laugh and roll my eyes as I walk toward my mirror. I pull my shirt up to expose my abs and take a selfie to send him. _There. Happy now?_

_Very. [winking emoji]_

I shake my head and finally pocket my phone before heading out of my room. My mom looks up when I walk into the kitchen. “He’s getting a shower and then he’ll be here,” I tell her and she smiles. Then she lifts her chin toward the living room and I roll my eyes. “I have to tell them?”

“Please,” she says.

“Fine. What are you making anyway?”

“Arroz con gandules,” she says.

“Oooh,” I say. “You haven’t made that in forever.”

She laughs. “It’s one thing I know I can make that your Abuela won’t complain about,” she says and I nod. Then I turn and walk into the living room.

I pause in the doorway. My dad and Tito are watching a soccer game while Pilar sits silently staring at her phone and Adrian is playing with Abuela Nati. I smile for a second and then I clear my throat. They all look up at me. “Um, Benji’s coming to dinner.”

Pilar stares at me with wide eyes. My dad nods approvingly. Tito and Nati both glance at me and nod slowly. Adrian on the other hand jumps up. “REALLY!?!?”

I laugh and nod. “Yeah, buddy.”

“Awesome!” he says.

“Please don’t make him sing the entirety of the _Frozen_ soundtrack,” Pilar says.

Adrian looks at her and tilts his head. “He actually told me this morning that he’s been practicing, so maybe he’ll have a dress rehearsal with you tonight,” I tell Adrian. Pilar gives me an exasperated look and I laugh and shrug. “Sorry.” I pull a chair in from the kitchen to sit on while we wait.

My phone vibrates in my pocket. I open a text from Benji and immediately sigh as I can feel my face burning. It’s a picture of him in his foggy bathroom mirror with just a towel around his waist. _Almost ready. [kissy emoji; winky emoji]_

_I am literally in the living room with my entire family. Can you not? [embarrassed emoji]_

_[laugh-cry emoji] Sorry. I love you._

_I love you, too._

I slide my phone back into my pocket and Tito is looking at me with a raised eyebrow. I close my eyes and bite my lip. “I promise. You really don’t want to know,” I say. I look at Pilar as she bites back a laugh and roll my eyes. She cackles out loud for a second and our dad looks at her.

“Sorry, sorry,” she says, trying to calm down.

“What is so funny?” my mom says coming in from the kitchen.

“Victor’s face,” Pilar tells her. My mom looks at me.

“Um, it’s nothing. Promise.”

She raises and eyebrow. “Alright then. Well, calm down, mija, please.” Pilar nods a little and tries to stifle her laughter. I get up and follow my mom to the kitchen, mostly to escape my sister. “Are you going to tell me what that was about?” my mom asks when she walks back to the stove.

I roll my eyes. “Benji texted me and I think I must have blushed or something because Pilar started laughing and Tito and Dad were both looking at me funny.” My mom laughs a little.

“Okay, well, why don’t you have your sister come help you set the table,” she says.

I groan internally, but walk back to the living room and look at my sister who’s finally done laughing. “Pilar, Mom wants us to set the table, please.”

She rolls her eyes but stands up and walks over to me. “Only if you tell me what the hell he said to make you turn that red,” she says quietly as she walks past. I roll my eyes at her as I turn around.

“He sent me a picture,” I say.

She raises her eyebrows. “Victor.”

I shake my head. “Not of that.”

She raises her eyebrows again. “Victor,” she says knowingly.

“Oh my God, Pilar. I’m literally going to show you the picture so you stop, okay?” I say and I pull my phone out, scroll up to the picture and turn the phone to face her.

She cackles. “That’s more of your boyfriend than I needed to see, hermano.”

I roll my eyes as my mom turns around to look at us with a raised eyebrow. “Mijo?”

I roll my eyes. “He took a selfie in a towel, oh my God it’s the end of the world,” I say.

“Don’t let your abuelos hear you talking like that, please,” my mom says, glancing toward the living room.

I sigh. “Right, I’m sorry, but will you please leave me alone now?” I say turning back to my sister.

She laughs. “But this is more fun.”

“Leave your brother alone, mija. This is hard enough for him without you making it more difficult,” my mom says. Pilar rolls her eyes and I silently chuckle as we actually start setting the table.

Just as we finish setting the table, there’s a knock on the door and I practically trip over myself running to open it. Pilar and my mom both laugh. “Shush!” I say over my shoulder as I open the door. “Hey,” I say with a smile at Benji.

He chuckles a little. “You okay?”

I nod. “Fine. My sister’s just being a jerk.”

“I am not!” she says from the kitchen. “Hey, Benji,” she adds as she walks behind me and back into the living room.

“Okay,” he says with a little chuckle as he steps inside so I can close the door behind him. He gives me a look for a second and I know what he’s asking. I look at him and then glance toward the living room for a second before nodding. He smiles and kisses me briefly before whispering in my ear. “I love you. It’s going to be okay.”

“I know,” I say. “I love you, too.”

He glances over my shoulder. “Hey, Isabel.”

“Hi, Benji. It’s good to see you.”

He chuckles a little and smiles as I connect our hands. “Ready?” He nods. I pull him into the living room doorway.

“BENJI!” Adrian practically shouts as he jumps up from the sofa and we both laugh.

“Hey, buddy!” Benji says, patting Adrian’s head with his free hand. “Excited for your birthday tomorrow?”

Adrian nods excitedly. “You’re coming to my party, right?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Benji assures him. “Wait till you see what I got you.”

Adrian’s face lights up and he looks at me. “Do you know what it is?”

I shake my head. “No clue, bud. You’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”

“Hmm,” he says and he gives Benji a look but then he goes back to the sofa and I laugh a little as I nudge Benji’s shoulder.

“You didn’t have to get him anything,” I say quietly.

“He invited me to his birthday party, I’m not showing up empty handed,” he says and then he glances at my grandparents who are staring at us. _Right._

“Um,” I say, looking at them. “Abuela Nati, Tito, uh, this is my boyfriend, Benji. Benji these are my grandparents, Nati y Tito.”

Benji squeezes my hand and I glance over to see him smiling and then I look back at my grandparents. “We are very sorry for the way we spoke on the phone last weekend,” Nati says. “We’re trying to be better.” I smile at her for a second and Benji squeezes my hand again. There’s a long awkward silence before Tito speaks.

“From what we’ve heard, you make our Victor very happy, young man,” he says. He glances at me and then looks at Benji again. “So, I look forward to getting to know you.”

Pilar looks about as shocked as I feel and Benji squeezes my hand again. “Thank you,” he says. “Um, thank you both, for being willing to… to try. I know it means a lot to Victor.”

We all kind of smile at each other for a second and then my mom appears in the other doorway. “Dinner’s ready if you all want to come eat,” she says.

Benji squeezes my hand to stop me from moving. We wait for everyone else to go into the kitchen and then he looks at me. “Are you okay?” he asks.

I nod. “Yeah. Honestly, that was more than I expected.”

He smiles at me. “I am glad they’re trying,” he says. “And I hope I do actually make you happy.” I laugh a little.

“You definitely do that,” I say and then I kiss him for a second. “We should go eat.”

He nods and we walk into the kitchen. The two seats left open for us put us on the end with Tito and Nati. I try not to think about whether that was intentional or not as we sit down. And then I finally inhale and the scent of the rice hits me. “It smells amazing, Mami,” I blurt out and she laughs.

“Thank you, Victor,” she says. “Okay, um, Pilar, would you say grace for us, please?”

She sighs loudly. “I’ll do it,” I say.

“Oh,” my mom says, looking up at me. “Okay, Victor. Go on,” she says.

I hadn’t volunteered to say grace since the day I came out three months ago and they hadn’t asked me to, either. Benji glances at me and I smile at him for a second before I bow my head and clasp my hands. “Heavenly father, we ask your blessing on the food we are about to partake and on the hands that prepared it. We ask your blessing on those of us gathered here tonight and all those that could not join us. We thank you for bringing Abuela Nati and Tito safely to us for the weekend and that you would watch over them as they travel home on Sunday. And I specifically ask for you to watch over our family this weekend because I know things might get difficult or awkward at some point, but I really hope that we can all find a way through this together. In your son’s holy name, we pray. A-men.”

There’s a little chorus of “A-men” around the table and I look up as my mom finishes crossing herself and she smiles at me. “Thank you, Victor,” she says. “Now, who’s hungry?” We all laugh and the minute floats out of silence and into conversation as we start helping ourselves to the rice.

Benji leans into my ear. “What is this?” he asks before he starts eating.

“Oh, um. It’s rice with pork and gandules,” I say. He looks at me. “I don’t know what they’re called in English. Um, it’s a Puerto Rican thing,” I say.

He nods. “Okay.”

“It’s really good,” I promise.

He shrugs and takes a bite. I watch his face. He nods a little. “Okay, yeah, it’s definitely good,” he says with a little laugh. My mom smiles at us.

“Told you,” I say as I start to eat, too.

A few minutes of silence later, Tito clears his throat and I look at him. “So,” he says quietly. “Benji.” I glance at Benji and he’s look at my grandfather. “Tell me about yourself.”

I laugh a little and Benji does, too. “Uh, okay. What d’you want to know?”

“Hmm,” Tito says and he thinks.

Nati puts her hand on his forearm and smiles at us. “Tell us why Victor loves you so much,” she says and I feel my face burning.

Benji laughs and then says, “I think that’s a better question for him, actually.”

I turn to look at him and he keeps laughing. “Okay, Victor then… tell us about your boyfriend,” Nati says and I look back to her.

“Um,” I say and I feel Benji’s shoulder bump against mine. “He’s uh… he’s just kind of amazing in every way possible,” I say, glancing at him and he chuckles under his breath and rolls his eyes. “I mean, he’s cute, obviously.” I feel myself blushing. “And he’s thoughtful and sweet and ridiculously patient. He always knows the right thing to say to me and being around him just makes me happy,” I say. I glance at my grandmother and she has her hand over heart. “And, I don’t know, Abuela, I just really love him a lot. He’s kind of perfect.”

Benji laughs a little through his nose and then his lips are next to my ear. “I love you, too,” he whispers and then he kisses my cheek and I smile. I glance at my grandparents and they don’t even flinch. My Abuela is still looking at me like she might cry and Tito has an expression on his face I don’t understand.

“Abuela,” I say and she looks at me. “Don’t cry please. You’re going to make me cry.”

“Oh, Victor,” she says. “Cariño, lo siento mucho. I am so sorry,” she says and then she looks at Benji. “To both of you,” she adds. “I just never realized…”

“ _We_ never realized,” Tito says. “I’ve never seen Victor like this in my life. He’s always… trying to fix other people’s problems. To see him, to see you, Victor, so happy like this. It makes me happy, too.”

“I told you,” my dad says from the other end of the table. “As soon as you see the two of them together, you understand.” I turn to look at him and Benji looks at me.

“Don’t cry,” he whispers.

I raise my hand to wipe the tears forming from my eyes, but Benji’s hand catches my wrist and then cups my cheek. He runs his thumb under my eye and smiles at me. I smile back and then I glance to my dad who’s smiling at me, too and my mom and my sister and then Adrian leans froward from the other side of Benji.

“I think your prayer worked, Victor,” he says and I laugh.

“I think it might have,” I say and then I turn back to my grandparents and they’re still smiling at me. “Thank you,” I tell them. “I mean that. Thank you so much. It means so much to me to hear you say that.”

After we finish dinner, everyone migrates back to the living room while my mom has Pilar help her clean up. Tito is still asking questions and we’re still answering them. But it hasn’t gotten awkward. He’s asking the same questions he asked when he met Pilar’s boyfriend back in Texas. This is just normal and it’s nice. It’s probably half-an-hour later when I hear Pilar’s bedroom door slam and Abuela Nati stares down the hall. “Pilar!” my dad calls after her, but of course she doesn’t respond.

“Leave her,” my mom says as she walks in with a cup of coffee. “I made coffee if anyone wants some.”

“That would be nice,” my grandmother says.

“I’ll get it for you,” my dad says getting to his feet. “Dad, you want some, too?”

“Si,” Tito says and my dad disappears into the kitchen.

“Do _you_ want coffee?” I ask Benji.

“I don’t know. You know my feelings on coffee,” he says and I laugh.

“Come with me,” I say and then I get up and pull him to his feet as we walk toward the kitchen.

“Oh,” my dad says when he turns around with three mugs of coffee.

“Hey, dad,” I say.

He sets the mugs down on the counter and tilts his head at us. “Your abuelos haven’t said anything too bad, have they?”

I shake my head. “No. I’m pretty sure they’re going through the same laundry list of questions they asked Pilar and Eric,” I say with a laugh.

He laughs a little. “I think Benji’s going to pass that test better,” he says with a wink and then he picks up the mugs of coffee and walks back into the living room.

I hear him handing off the mugs as I start to pour one for myself. Benji wraps his arms around my waist from behind and rests his chin on my shoulder. “So,” he says quietly.

“So,” I repeat.

“This was actually nice,” he says.

“It was,” I agree. “Your charm is apparently universal.”

“I don’t know about that,” he whispers. “All I care about is that it works on you.”

I chuckle. “Oh, I never told you about that,” I say as I turn around and take a sip of coffee.

“What?” he asks.

“That picture you sent me earlier,” I say. He raises an eyebrow. “I was in the living room with everyone except my mom and I guess I must’ve blushed pretty hard because Pilar looked like she was about to explode with laughter. And then Tito looked at me and I told him he didn’t want to know.”

Benji laughs and kisses me quickly. “He really didn’t.”

“Like I said. And my mom came in and asked what was so funny and my sister just said my face so I told my mom it was nothing, but then I followed her into the kitchen and she asked me about it again and so I told her you’d sent me a picture that made me blush. But she let it go.” He’s smirking at me. “And _then_ she had me and Pilar set the table and Pilar would not let it go and I ended up showing her the picture to make her shut up because she was so certain it was far more inappropriate than it was.”

He laughs. “I would _never_ do that,” he says innocently. I raise an eyebrow. “When I don’t know you’re alone.” He kisses me again and I shake my head.

“Anyway, she said that was more of you than she needed to see, so my mom started asking again and I guess I just sort of exploded and told her something along the lines of ‘Oh my God, he took a selfie in a towel. It’s the end of the world!’ And then I got yelled at for using the Lord’s name in vain while my grandparents are here.”

He laughs again. “You’re adorable,” he says and then he kisses me again and I set my coffee cup down to kiss him back. Until someone’s clearing their throat in the doorway to the living room and we both freeze and turn our heads. I face feels like it’s on fire.

“Not in the kitchen,” my mom says.

“Sorry,” I say, looking down as Benji steps away from me.

She shakes her head and then clears her throat again. “Victor, I need you to help me set up for the party tomorrow. We’re allowed the pavilion at 9.”

I nod. “Okay, I’m off tomorrow, so that’s not a problem.”

She smiles. “Good. I’m going to have your sister help, too, and Adrian can stay up here with your grandparents until it’s time for the party.”

“I can come help, too,” Benji says. “If you need an extra set of hands.”

“That would be great, Benji. Thank you.”

“Sure. It’s no problem,” he says and then he glances at me for a second. “Um, I was going to bring my guitar. I thought maybe we could do a sing-along with the kids or something? I know Adrian really likes when I sing with him.”

My mom smiles. “I’m sure he’d love that, Benji.”

Benji & I stay in the living room until my grandparents start yawning and then I drag him back the hall to my bedroom. “I wasn’t finished kissing you when my mother so rudely interrupted,” I whisper as I wrap my arms around his shoulders.

I’m on the verge of pulling him down onto my bed when he pulls away. “Hey, not sure this is such a great idea with your grandparents here,” he says. “Not that I don’t want to…”

I sigh. “No, you’re right. I should probably let you go home or something.”

“You can come over after work on Sunday if you want. We open again.”

I smile at him. “Yeah. That sounds perfect.”

He smiles at me. “So, I’ll see you tomorrow morning, okay?”

I nod. “Okay. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” he says and then he walks toward the hallway and I follow him just to the door to watch. He walks to the doorway of the living room and announces that he’s leaving to my family and I can hear my mom saying ‘goodnight’ and then he turns back around to wink at me before he opens the door and leaves.

I sigh and flop backwards onto my bed. Maybe this weekend wasn’t going to be so terrible after all.

On Saturday, everything goes exactly as planned until an hour into the party when Benji and his guitar finally sneak away from Adrian and the other 8-year-olds to find me. “There you are,” he whispers. I’m organizing the table of presents because it’s almost cake and ice cream time which will be closely followed by present opening time.

“You escaped!” I say with a laugh.

He nods. “They’re relentless,” he says. “So, what’ve you been up to?”

“Organizing presents,” I say and gesture toward the table. “What did you get him anyway?”

“You’ll see,” he says and I roll my eyes.

“I have to be surprised, too?”

“Yep,” he says and then he kisses me for barely a second.

When we pull apart, I smile at him for a second and then I look behind him to see a little girl staring at us, so I look at her. “Why are you kissing another boy?” she says.

We both laugh and Benji turns around. “Julia, right?” She nods. “Because Victor’s my boyfriend,” he says.

“But you’re both boys!” she says.

Benji chuckles. “Yep,” he says. “I’m his boyfriend, too.” She tilts her head and he chuckles again. “It’s because we’re gay,” he explains. “That means we like other boys instead of liking girls. Does that make sense?”

She nods a little. “Oh, okay,” she says and then she sort of shakes her head and walks back off toward the party.

“I love kids,” I say once she disappears.

“Seriously. They’re just curious,” he says and then he kisses me again and I laugh as I thread my fingers through his and we walk back toward the party as my mom and grandma are uncovering the cake.

“Alright,” my mom says. “We’re all going to sing happy birthday to Adrian and then we’ll have cake and ice cream before he opens his presents.” My dad is lighting 8 candles on the cake as she talks and Adrian is watching carefully.

I notice the little girl from earlier, Julia, talking to an adult woman that I assume is her mother. The woman’s eyes go wide at whatever Julia is telling her and then she stands up and gives us a death glare before turning to my mom. “How dare you have people _like that_ ,” she says, pointing to us, “around children!”

My mom turns to see what she means. “That’s my son you’re talking about,” my mom says. “If you have a problem with Victor or Benji, you are free to leave,” she says and then she looks back to the cake. “Where were we?”

The woman huffs and angry sigh and then she grabs her daughter’s hand. “Come on, Julia, we’re leaving.”

“But Mommy! I want cake!”

“I’ll buy you a cupcake on the way home,” she says and then she pulls her daughter toward the parking lot.

“Okay,” my mom says. “Sorry about that. Let’s sing, shall we?” She looks around at everyone else and a few of the parents look uncomfortable, too, but quickly everyone is singing and no one else says anything. At least not out loud.

It turns out, Benji’s gift for Adrian is a set of dolls. Elsa and Anna from _Frozen_ that both sing when you press their hands. “So you have someone to sing with when I’m not around,” he says with a little smirk.

“Thank you, Benji!” Adrian says, looking up at him with a huge cheesy grin and Benji laughs.

“No problem, buddy.”

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed this fic, please consider hopping over to tumblr and letting me know which concept you'd like to see next. I also accept prompts to my ask box if you have any additional ideas.
> 
> https://onlyherefortheshowmances.tumblr.com/post/641578011049738240/some-venji-fic-ideas-that-ill-probably-write-all


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